


Lab Coats and Handcuffs

by ragingscooter



Category: Rookie Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-28
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-01-06 10:50:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 61,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1105922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragingscooter/pseuds/ragingscooter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate universe story about college age Gail and Holly. Gail a criminal justice major in her senior year is paired up with third year med student Holly. Rated 'T' for language and later chapters will be 'M' for various subject matter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Partners

**Author's Note:**

> A/N I had some success with one shots with these two so I decided to try to write a longer story. I feel like I have to warn you beforehand, this story will have a little drama. Disclaimer I don’t own Rookie Blue or its characters, all mistakes are mine. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1- Partners  
The afternoon sun warmed Gail as she found a stool by the window. She watched as the classroom slowly filled with people; she tapped her fingers impatiently as a guy that she had seen in an earlier class tried to chat her up. She ignored his awkward advances until she caught sight of a much more welcome familiar face. “Hey Dov! Over here I saved you a seat.” She called as she waved him over. As he approached Gail turned to her never-would-be admirer, “Sorry I was saving this seat for my boyfriend.”

Dov mouthed, “Boyfriend?” over the guy’s shoulder as he stood by the lab table.  
Gail gave her best ‘go along with it, I will explain later’ look and thankfully he played along.  
“Hey thanks for saving me a seat babe.” He said the other guy got up and mumbled something that sounded like sorry as he backed away.  
Once he was gone Dov laughed and set his books down, “At least you were nice to this one, didn’t you tell that frat guy that if he said one more word to you that you would rip his balls off with a staple puller?”

Gail turned to him, “I can be nice sometimes babe. Seriously babe? Of all the things you could call me you chose babe?”

“It was either that of Gaily-waily I made a gut decision and felt babe was safer.”

That earned him an eye roll, “You chose wisely. I have taught you well. You may remain as my roommate.” She saw her other roommate Chris walk in their friends Andy and Traci. There were a lot of familiar faces in the room but also a lot of new faces which was a little confusing, this was supposed to be a senior seminar class for criminal justice majors and Gail knew everyone that was a part of their department. Who were these other people? They looked a little older than the seniors and tired, one slightly chunky guy had quite a bit of stubble and was nursing a large, what can only be described as a jug, of coffee. “It is two in the afternoon,” she thought as the man took another sip, “No one needs that much coffee.”

She was jolted out of her thoughts by the instructor rapping on the desk in front of him, “Good afternoon everyone I am Professor Shaw, welcome to Senior Seminar 480: Criminal Justice-A practical application. This section will be taught jointly with Dr. Cavanaugh of the medical school, for the first time for this course we are merging our senior criminal justice majors with third year medical students for their section in pathology. You will each be assigned a partner for the semester, there will be no trading of partners. You will work on in class assignments together as well as all of the off-campus projects that will be conducted in the upcoming months. Furthermore you will required to keep a log of out of class hours that you spend with each other, a minimum of four hours a week is mandatory. I will read the pairing now, I will say the senior’s name first and then the third year. Please stand when your name is called.”

As he started calling out names alphabetically Gail let her mind wander as it would take time to get to ‘p’. This class wasn’t anything like she had thought it would be, she assumed with a name like ‘practical application’ it meant that they would do ride alongs in police cars or sit in on some actual trials not hang out with would be dead guy doctors. Gail watched Dov stand and walk over to coffee drinker man who from then on had the name ‘Java the Hutt’ in her head. When she saw Traci sit next to a girl that was chewing on her pencil Gail turned her attention back to the teacher, Peck came after Nash.  
The professor scanned down the sheet of paper, “Gail Peck?” Gail stood and nodded, the teacher nodded back, “You will be paired with Marcus Skidmarque.” He did his best not to smile at the name.

Gail had to hold back a snort, “Skidmark?” she thought, “This poor kid.”

Dr. Cavanaugh tapped on Professor Shaw’s shoulder and whispered something, Shaw cleared his throat, “Well I have just been informed that Mr. Skidmarque has had an accident of some sorts and will be unable to join us. So let me see here…you will be partnered with Holly Stewart.”  
Gail looked around the room and spotted a pretty girl with a darker complexion and an intriguing smile walking towards her. “I could do worse.” Gail thought as the med student sat down next to her.

“Gail? I’m Holly, nice to meet you.” The brunette said as she set her books on the table and offered her hand to shake.

She took the girl’s hand and noticed that it was soft but strong, “Nice to meet you too, I am glad I didn’t get stuck with the guy named Skidmark.”

Holly laughed and got a dirty look from the table next to them and quieted down, “What a name, you would think that you would change it or something.”

“Right?” Gail said thinking that she and this Holly would get along okay.

She was about to say something else when Dr. Cavanaugh spoke, “Now that you are all paired up with your partner we would like you to take the rest of the class to get to know each other a little, after all you will be spending a great deal of time together over the next few months. We will see you tomorrow and go over the course syllabus, have a great rest of the day.”

The room got a bit louder with everyone talking so Holly leaned in closer to be able to speak to Gail and Gail could smell something that smelled a little like cinnamon, maybe it was the girl’s shampoo. “So tell me about yourself Gail Peck.” Gail couldn’t help but notice the other girls eyes scanning her, was she checking her out? The thought was a nice ego boost but Gail knew that she was hot.

“What do you want to know?” Gail said and then mentally scolded herself, was she flirting with this girl?

Holly chuckled and cocked her head to the side and smiled this crooked smile, “I don’t know the basic stuff, how old are you, why did you choose this major, where are you from? Those sort of things.”

Easy enough, so Gail answered, “22, look up my name, and Toronto.”

This earned Gail another laugh, “Not a big talker are you?” Gail shrugged. “Well I am from Vancouver, I have always loved science that is way I chose this field. I like the outdoors and sports, I played hockey in college and I love maple bars with bacon on them.”

“You didn’t say how old you are.” Gail commented as she looked the girl over, she didn’t look like she was much older than her.

“You caught that…”

“Well I am training to be a cop. I notice things.” Gail said matter of factly.

“I see.” She teased “I will turn 23 next month.”  
That didn’t sound right to Gail, she did some quick math, she knew that she was older than most of her fellow seniors since she had taken a year off but for Holly to just be turning 23 and already in her third year of medical school…

“I can hear your brain working over time, I graduated high school when I was sixteen and I finished undergrad when I was nineteen. I took a year off and joined the Peace Corps before starting med school.” Holly said casually.

“Wow, I took a year off to piss off my mom.” Gail said halfheartedly. Holly laughed and bumped Gail’s shoulder. “So are you like a genius or something?”

Holly grin got a little bigger, “No, I just have a really good memory and I am pretty good at figuring out problems. So is it just me or is that guy over there staring at us?”

Gail turned to look where Holly was subtly gesturing, “Oh that is Nick…my ex. He isn’t taking the break up well.”

“When did you break up?”

“Right before summer break, we had been together for almost a year.”

“I take it that you didn’t part on the best of terms?” Holly asked as Gail shook her head.

“See that girl over there, the one with the dark hair? That is Andy, she and I were roommates freshman and sophomore year. She and Nick were paired on a project last spring and spent a lot of time together. I thought nothing of it, we were all friends but then Nick started getting weird around me and let it slip that he had feelings for Andy. I told him that I wasn’t anyone’s second choice and broke up with him. He ran right to Andy and she turned him down flat. Now he is alone and blames me.” Gail explained and then realized that she had shared more about herself to a complete stranger than she to anyone in months.

“Wow, well it sounds like he deserves to be alone. So are you really going to make me do homework and look up your name?”

“Yep.” Gail said popping the ‘p’. “If you want to know that is the only way.”

Holly raised her hands in surrender, “Okay. So how do you want to meet up out of class? I have a little time in the morning before classes but have more time in the evening. What is your schedule like?”

Gail thought a minute before answering, “Mornings only work on Tuesdays and Thursdays for me, I have 7 a.m. classes the other days. I don’t think you want to join me on my run at 5:30 in the morning, besides we couldn’t really discuss class then anyway. I have time in the early afternoon on Monday and Wednesday but all of my evenings are free.”

“I am glad I don’t have a super early morning classes this term. I like to have a little time in the morning to get my head into the right state of mind. So you run? See that is something else I know about you know. Where do you run? I might have to join you one morning.” Holly said as she pulled her long hair back into a ponytail.

“I usually take the loop around the park, it is five miles. I usually run alone, you would have to keep up.” Gail answered.  
  
“Oh I can keep up.” Holly said arching her eyebrows, “It is you that should be worried.” Gail was certain now that this girl was flirting with her and was having a difficult time keeping up with their banter. Before she could think up a witty retort Holly continued, “So it sounds like evenings work best for the both of us. Do you live in the dorms or off campus?”

“I live off campus with two roommates. It isn’t the greatest place but it is close to the park and not too far from campus. How about you?”

Holly nodded towards the clock, the class was almost over, she answered as she gathered her books, “I live off campus, I have a small loft. It is pretty small but since it is just me it works.”  
The bell rang and Gail started to get up from her stool and felt Holly grab her wrist, she would have sworn that she felt a shock go through her at the simple touch. “Give me your phone.” Gail raised an eyebrow, “Please?” Holly added and Gail handed over her phone. “Okay so I just called my phone so we have each other’s numbers. I will see you tomorrow Gail of Toronto.”

Holly got up and was half out the door when Gail said, “See you tomorrow Holly…nerd.”  
The med student stopped and turned, “Is that the best you got? We will have to work on that.” She left laughing.

Gail rolled her eyes, but Holly was right she could do better, she was brought out of her thoughts when Dov and Chris came up next to her. “My partner smells like old sneakers and told me that if screw up his grade for this class he will kill me and donate my body to the pathology department.” Chris complained as the three headed out. It was their last class of the day.

“Sorry man but my guy isn’t much better, I think he was mainlining coffee. He was shaking and you could smell it coming out of his pores. What about you Gail?” Dov said as he unlocked the door of their, well his car.

“Huh? What?”

“Your partner is she a nightmare?”

Gail paused before answering, “No, she seems alright, not too weird. At least she smells nice.”

Dov and Chris nodded, that was about the closest that Gail came to complimenting someone. Dov started the car, “That is a plus.”

Gail stared out the car window as they headed home, “Yes, yes it is.” She said mostly to herself.


	2. Study Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly's point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N I am stunned with the response to this story, every email alert that I received telling me that someone was following or had favorited the story brought a smile to my face. To clear some things up 1) I am clearly continuing this story, 2) I do plan on adding a part two to my story ‘Do I Wanna Know’, 3) The drama in this story won’t come from cheating, life can throw a lot other kinds of obstacles their way. So my standard disclaimer: I don’t own Rookie Blue or its characters and all mistakes are mine.

 

Chapter 2 Study Date

Holly’s pov

Holly woke feeling a bit frustrated, she hadn’t slept well. The sleep that she managed were plagued with thoughts of a certain blonde. This was not good. For one Gail was straight; the ex-boyfriend a big tip off there. Two, even if Gail was up for some college experimentation it was a bad idea to get involved with someone she had to work with. Three Holly had no time for relationships or hook-ups. But even with those reasons Holly couldn’t help but wonder how Gail’s lips would feel against her own, or what kinds of sounds the blonde would make if Holly had her pinned against a wall with her fingers…no…no these were not helpful thoughts.

She had looked Gail up last night and was surprised with what she found. It hadn’t taken long to find her and once she did she found out that Gail was practically police royalty. Her mom was a superintendent, her dad was high up the chain of command as well. Her grandfather and her great-grandfather were highly decorated policemen and her brother while still relatively new to the force had already made his way into some important cases. Gail had big shoes to fill. Holly wondered if this was what Gail even wanted, there was a lot of pressure to succeed. But Gail would look hot in the uniform…god she needed to nip these feelings in the bud. If her friend Jade were here she would tell Holly that she needed to get laid, it had been a while. Okay a while was a bit of an understatement but after the Leah debacle as it was known in her head she hadn’t been interested in anyone…until Gail that is.

But she wasn’t interested in Gail was she? She was attracted to her, there was no denying that and she did find her intriguing, there seemed to be an intensity to the girl that made her curious about what was going on in her head. Holly had enjoyed flustering the blonde the day before, she usually wasn’t so confident or flirty but there was something about Gail that triggered this response in her, she couldn’t help it. But no she wasn’t interested in Gail, she just needed to keep repeating that in her head.

_Later that day_

Class was about to start and Gail wasn’t there yet, Holly tapped the table in time to a song that was stuck in her head. She must have zoned out because she was startled by Gail placing her hands over hers stopping their actions. “Hey.” Holly said as Gail removed her hands and sat down and Holly could feel her hands tingling from the blondes touch.

“Hey.” Gail answered as she took off her jacket and stretched, Holly caught sight of a strip of beautiful pale skin as Gail’s shirt rode up.

“Hey.” Holly breathed out as she tried to focus her attention elsewhere.

Gail smirked, “You already said that.”

Holly laughed, “It did sound familiar. How’s your day going?”

“Good for the most part, my Law, Society and Justice professor is a giant tool, he changed the reading list after I had already bought my books.” Gail vented but quieted when their teachers began the day’s lecture.

Holly did her best to pay attention to what they were saying, it did sound like it should be an interesting five months. Mock crime scenes and autopsies could be fun. She was glad that Gail was taking notes because she kept finding herself distracted by the way the blonde would lick her upper lip or bit her lower one.

“Holly? Holly? NERD!” She was surprised by Gail who looked amused, “Come back from dream land nerdy we have work to do.”

Holly nodded, “Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night.” She admitted as Gail placed a worksheet in front of them.

“I get it, I didn’t sleep well either.”

This sparked Holly’s interest, maybe her lack of sleep stemmed from the same problem? “Not good. Hopefully tonight is better.”

Gail shrugged a little, “I am used to it. So we need to identify the proper chain of custody steps.”

For the next hour they worked diligently on completing their assignment. Holly was happy to see that Gail was as serious as she was about her work. They finished early and were told that they could leave. It was a cold but clear January afternoon and the snow on the ground crunched under their feet. “So…” Holly said as they walked away from the building.

“So…what?” Gail asked as she searched her messenger bag for her sunglasses.

“So…I was thinking of grabbing a drink, we can talk about our homework.” Holly answered as they walked.

“Are you suggesting a _drink_ drink, like tequila or a drink drink, like coffee?” Gail asked perking up.

Holly laughed and shook her head, “I was leaning more towards coffee since it isn’t even four o’clock yet and 24 degrees outside.” She saw Gail pout and Holly thought that it might be the cutest thing ever, “Maybe next time we can have hard liquor.”

“Okay, I know the perfect place.” Gail said as she led the way. Holly was surprised when Gail brought her to what looked like the most run down diner she had ever seen. “Oh relax, the place is cleaner on the inside.” The blonde said as she saw the look on Holly’s face.

As they entered Holly was relieved that it was warm and Gail was true to her word that it was much cleaner on the inside. Gail took a seat in a booth and Holly sat opposite her, a waitress came and she recognized Gail.

“Hey hon you want your usual?” the older woman asked.

“Not today Hazel, I think I will just have a hot chocolate. Holly do you want to share some fries?” Gail asked as she handed her menu back to the waitress.

“Sure and hot chocolate sounds great.”

Hazel nodded, “Alright fries and two hot chocolates, I will bring those right out.”

Once Hazel was gone Holly said, “I did my homework last night.”

Gail looked a little puzzled, “Good for you?”

Holly sighed, “The homework you assigned me.”

“Oh that homework. Learn anything interesting?”

“Perhaps, but I do have a question, do they just issue you Pecks a badge and gun at birth?”

That earned Holly a smile and a short laugh from Gail, “Pretty much; there is a picture of me, I couldn’t be more than a few hours old wearing a police uniform onsie complete with utility belt.”

“Is there anyone in your family that isn’t on the force?” Holly asked as Hazel came back with their drinks and food.

Gail took a fry and seemed to ponder over the question, “Well there was Cousin Pete, but we aren’t allowed to talk about him.”

Holly took a sip of her cocoa, “Why not?”

“We were told that he was dead to us since he joined the dark side…the fire department.”

Holly almost choked on her drink, “Are you serious?”

Gail just shrugged and ate another french fry. “So you learned all my deep dark secrets?”

Holly felt a blush trying to surface but she fought it back, “No, not really, I just saw that you come from a long line of policemen.”

“It is the family business.” Gail said noncommittally.

“Is it something that you want to do? Be a policeman I mean.”

Gail smiled a sad sort of smile as she held her cup, “I know what you mean Holly, it’s funny you are the first person to ask me that. I don’t know I never really thought about it, it has always been expected. For as long as I can remember this was the plan. So your parents must be proud, you being an almost doctor and all.”

Holly let the topic change slide, “They are proud, they don’t like that I moved so far away but my family is very supportive.”

Gail nodded, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Holly took a fry and dunked it in the ranch that Hazel brought, “I have one of each, both older. Josh is 28, he designs video games and Charlotte is 26, she has a catering company.”

“Are you close?”

Holly smiled, “Yes, even though a was a big pest to them when we were younger, I played tag along every chance I got but up until I moved out here we met up once a week for lunch.”

“That sounds nice, I try and meet up with Steve, my brother, at least once a month but he is busy a lot… What about your parents? Are they doctors?” Gail asked as she eyed the plate that held the fries there was one left, she pushed the plate towards Holly to take it.

Holly gave her a little smile and ate the offered fry before answering, “Nope, mom writes for the local paper and dad runs a bakery.”

“You were saying that you moved out here at the beginning of the school year, why would you transfer schools?” Gail asked with clear interest.

This was a question that Holly had hoped wouldn’t come up, “It is a long story…I don’t really…”

“Hey, it’s okay. Its personal…I get that. You have known me for two days. Forget I asked.” Gail backtracked.

“It’s not that Gail, it’s funny I do feel comfortable talking to you even if we are still practically strangers it is just…I guess I am still sorting out my reasons for leaving. You ever have that feeling that you need to escape? Leave everything and everyone?” Holly tried to explain.

Gail’s expression was still but her eyes conveyed understanding, “I feel that way all of the time. I just don’t have the nerve to actually leave.”

The light conversation that they had started over cocoa and fries had taken a very serious turn and Holly could feel a shift in the way that she saw Gail, before she was an object of lust but now… “I live two blocks from here…want to get out of here?”

Gail nodded and left some money on the table and waved goodbye to Hazel. They walked in silence again but this time Holly took more interest in how Gail carried herself, there was a confidence, a strength about her but her eyes told a different story. Those eyes looked like the sea during a storm, ever changing with the weather.

Once the pair got to her building Holly’s nerves acted up, she couldn’t remember if the loft was clean, had she put her laundry away? The last thing she wanted Gail to see was her big old granny panties on top of her laundry basket. She scolded herself for freaking out over something so stupid as they walked up the three flights of stairs, this wasn’t a date. It was the closest thing to a date as she had had in a while but this was for school, she really needed to keep that in the front of her mind. She let Gail into her apartment and let out an involuntary sigh of relief when she saw that the laundry basket was empty, crisis averted.

“Nice place.” Gail said as she surveyed the room. The loft wasn’t very large, a kitchen area that flowed into the living room. Her ‘bedroom’ was in the back corner by the bank of windows with the bathroom next to it. “I like how open it is. Quiet too.” She said as rocked on her heels. “I live with two boys, it is never quiet.”

Holly laughed as she hung up her coat, “I bet, you want to take your coat off and sit?”

Gail blushed slightly and shrugged out of her coat and handed it to Holly before sitting on the couch. It was almost too quiet so Holly asked, “Tell me about your roommates.”

“What can I tell you about the wonder twins? Hmm… Well I have known Dov since high school. We didn’t start out as friends. I was in a rebelling stage and a bit of a wild child… but that is beside the point…I got to know Dov after he did me a favor… Anyway his home life sucked, his older brother had died a few months before and his parents couldn’t deal. He started hanging out around my place and became like a second brother. Chris we met during freshman year, he was Dov’s roommate. It is impossible not to like the guy, he is always so damn cheerful. For some reason we all just clicked, we are all criminal justice majors. Over time we formed a dysfunctional little family of sorts.” Gail said as she drummed her fingers on her knees nervously. 

“Do I make you nervous Gail?”

Gail turned and shot her an icy glare, “I don’t get nervous.” But her gaze softened, “It is just that I don’t make it a habit of letting people in. The last person that I let in was Nick and look how that turned out.”

“Oh, I see.” Holly said as she tried to understand.

“The thing that gets me is that I didn’t even want to go out with him, my mom set me up with him. It was easier to go out with him than get the phone calls from my mom telling me that I was embarrassing her because I would show up to her stupid police functions alone. Nick didn’t seem so bad, I didn’t love him or anything but it got to me that felt so little for me that he would do what he did. Chris told me once that I am like a cat, I don’t trust easy, he however is like a dog he trusts everyone until they give him a reason not to. But like a cat I stick to the shadows, I don’t involve myself unless it is on my terms and when I get uncomfortable I bolt. Not the best attitude when I comes to making friends or dating.” Gail explained. “I am great at most things but I suck at relationships. I think I was looking for any excuse to end it with Nick. I couldn’t commit to him the way I was supposed to.”

“I was like that too but then I realized that I just didn’t like men.” Holly said, testing the waters as she got up and grabbed a couple of bottles of soda from the fridge. She needed Gail to be okay with this, Holly wasn’t sure why it felt important for Gail to know but it was. Holly was usually more private; it wasn’t like she was in the closet but she wasn’t dancing around in a rainbow flag either.

“Oh I don’t like men either, I can barely stand Dov and Chris half the time and I love those two.”

“I mean I am a lesbian.” Holly said as she handed the bottle to Gail.

“Oh…I mean I hate people.” She took a long swig of her soda, “So we need to read chapter one and two for class. I am still hungry you mind if I order a pizza?” Gail said so easily that it threw Holly.

“Sure as long as it doesn’t have peppers on it, I am allergic.”

“No problem, I am allergic to tomatoes, you okay with a barbeque chicken pizza?” Gail asked as she pulled out her phone and tossed it to Holly, “Can you order since I don’t know your address and I need to pee?”

Holly just caught the phone and watched Gail make a beeline to her bathroom, as she dialed a familiar number for a nearby pizzeria Holly chanted her new mantra, Gail is your friend…you are not interested in anything more than friendship with her. Deep down Holly knew that she could repeat it with every breath she took but it wouldn’t make it true.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N So what do you all think of chapter 2? I think I will alternate points of view between these two. Tell me what you think, I love reading your reviews.


	3. Chapter 3 Dreams and Running- Two Things That Leave You Breathless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gail's pov

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Still blown away with the response to this story. Thank you for all of the reviews, I try to respond to all of them that I can. I am going to take moment to thank the guest reviewers, I appreciate the time you took to tell me to keep going. Standard disclaimer: I don’t own Rookie Blue or its characters or Cheap Trick.

 

Gail’s pov

For the third time in as many weeks Gail had woken up…how should she put it? What was the word she was looking for? Frustrated…so very freaking frustrated. Gail ran her hand through her sweaty hair and leaned back against the headboard. She had never had problems sleeping before but for the last few weeks she had been having dreams. Not your run of the mill, I am going to miss class and I have forgotten my clothes or the ever popular I have a test and I don’t even remember being in this class type of dream. No…no these dreams were different. They would all start out being normal but then something would change…last night’s dream was no different. Gail sighed as she replayed the dream in her head; it started out with her walking a familiar hallway in what looked like her old high school when someone pulled her into a dark closet. She couldn’t see her abductor but she didn’t panic, in fact she felt excited as her captor held her against the closed door. She would feel fingers lightly trace her face as they traveled down her neck…around the curve of her breast as it continued south. The hand that pinned her arms above her head was strong but Gail made no effort to escape. The traveling hand would rest on Gail’s hip and would draw her closer as soft lips ghosted over the space behind her ear. And then she would hear it so faintly that Gail wasn’t sure if she were imagining it, “You want this…all you have to do is say yes.” And like the all of the other dreams over the last three weeks she woke up. The places were different but the words and the feelings that the dream elicited were the same.

Gail got up and stretched, it was early but it wasn’t like she was going to get anymore sleep. She walked quietly into the living room, it would be another hour and a half before the boys woke up and she wasn’t meeting Holly for their run for another hour so she had some time to kill. She sat on the couch and turned on the television, she watched the early news but she wasn’t really paying attention, her thoughts were on her new running partner. Holly confused the hell out of Gail…correction her feelings towards Holly confused her. Holly herself was very straight forward, she was very upfront with Gail and Holly had no problem telling her when she was wrong or acting like a brat. It was strangely comforting to have someone be that honest with you.  No, it was Gail who had a problem. She was being honest when she told Holly about her not being good with relationships, relationships of any kind. Hell, she didn’t know why Dov and Chris stuck with her half the time but she was glad that they did. Gail knew that part of her problem was about control. She had so little control in her life, her career had been planned for her since before birth, her parents had picked this college, and her mom had even chosen her boyfriend for her. The one thing that Gail felt any control over was who she let in, who she would let herself feel something for…and Holly…Holly... Gail turned off the television and decided to get ready for her run. She didn’t want to think about Holly right now.

Try as she might thoughts of Holly drifted her way as she pulled on her running clothes, she had known the other girl for less than a month but she had become an integral part of her life. They saw each other every day whether it was in class or working on their joint assignments but they also started running together in the mornings and sometimes Holly would stay after a study session and hang out with Gail and the boys. That happened a few times and while Gail thought that is was nice that they all got along a part of her preferred the days that she went to Holly’s apartment to study there and they were by themselves. It was so easy being with Holly, Gail thought as she tightened up her laces.  She looked at the time and decided to jog to the park instead of driving the mile to get there. She grabbed her keys and took off into the still dark morning.

As her blood started pumping Gail’s thoughts returned to Holly, she had been a little surprised when the med student told her that she was a lesbian. It hadn’t bothered her and Gail hadn’t made big deal about it but…she had questions…questions she really had no right to ask. She could see Holly’s old jeep in the parking area waiting for her and she slowed her pace. Gail smiled to herself as she saw Holy singing along to some song in the car.

_I want you to want me_  
I need you to need me  
I'd love you to love me  
I'm begging you to beg me  
  
I'll shine up the old brown shoes  
Put on a brand-new shirt  
I'll get home early from work   
If you say that you love me  
  
Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?  
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?  
Feeling all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dying  
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?  
  
Feelin' all alone without a friend, you know you feel like dying  
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you crying?  
  
I want you to want me  
I need you to need me  
I'd love you to love me  
I'm begging you to beg me  
I want you to want me  
I want you to want me

Gail started clapping and Holly turned a deep shade of red. “Bravo nerd, I didn’t know that you could sing and old school Cheap Trick at that.”

“It’s brava when applying the term towards a female.” Holly said as she got out of her car.

“Whatever nerd, take the compliment, I give maybe two out a year.”

“Thank you I guess, where is your car? I didn’t see you pull up.” Holly asked as she looked over the parking lot.

“I ran here, I got up too early, decided what the hell get another mile in.” Gail said casually as she watched Holly stretch. For some reason it was hard to take her eyes off of the other woman as she scrutinized the taut muscles under the tight clothing contract and relax.

“Trouble sleeping?” Holly asked completely unaware of Gail’s inspection of her form.

“Sort of, weird dreams…I really don’t want to talk about it. Ready?”

Holly nodded as she checked her laces, “Usual bet?”

“You know it. Ready to lose again?” Gail taunted.

“Not today. Today is my day Peck. You are going down.” Holly boasted as she did one last stretch.

“In your dreams.”

An hour and a half later Holly was still rubbing Gail’s nose in it that she had won. “It was a fluke, besides I had already run a mile before meeting up with you.” Gail complained as she paid for their breakfast at the diner.

Holly shook her head, “Excuses, excuses, face it you lost and I won. I have had to buy your greasy breakfast for the last week and a half you didn’t hear me complain did you? Now do you want me to drop you off at your place?”

Gail looked down at her full stomach and the thought of running back to her apartment kind of made her sick, she merely nodded.

Holly smiled and held the diner door for her and the drive back to the frat house as Holly affectionately called it was quiet. “See you in class?” Holly asked as she pulled up to the front of her building.

“I will be there. Enjoy cutting up the dead bodies.”

“Thank you, have fun learning about diminished capacity and other mitigating factors. “ Holly quipped back.

“We finished that last week, now we are onto Foucault and his theories on discipline and punishment.”

“Sounds sexy.” Holly joked.

Gail tried to remain serious, “Well you know me, nothing gets me going like french philosophy about prison systems.”

“Good to know, I will keep that in mind.”

Gail didn’t get to make another remark as Holly pulled away, she didn’t like it when she didn’t get the last word, but it seemed like she never did with Holly. Maybe a shower would help wash away the sweat and thoughts of the med student. Probably not on the second thing but at least she would get clean.

  _Later that day_

“I thought he would never shut up!” Gail exclaimed as she and Holly left the classroom, “How many times can you ask the same question? I mean seriously Shaw looked like he wanted to strangle the kid.”

Holly chuckled as she pulled her coat tighter, “I guess some people don’t catch on as quickly as you do they need a little more help.”

“I suppose when you grow up hearing the classifications of felonies and misdemeanors instead of lullabies you might have a leg up on some people.” Gail acquiesced.

“Did your parents really do that?” Holly asked incredulously.

Gail nodded as they walked to Holly’s jeep, “Sure, I remember the tale of Martin the car thief and how he was charged with grand theft auto when I was sick with the flu, I think I was four. And how could I forget the old classic Paramount Street Pam, the prostitute that liked to handcuff her johns to car doors without their pants.”

Holly shook her head, “You had some childhood.”

“I went on my first ride along when I was five, my parents were already high up in the command so I got to ride with my Uncle Carl who at the time was a training officer. We responded to a call for domestic violence, my uncle’s rookie partner was excited, I remember her telling me that she loved being out on the street; that being on the job that way gave her the opportunity to really help the public. More hands on. My uncle told me to stay in the cruiser and they went inside, they came out a few minutes later with a guy in handcuffs and a woman screaming at them. I heard on the radio the rookie call for backup to transfer the guy to the precinct. I remember her smiling and waving to me and then I saw the screaming woman lunge at her with a knife.”

Holly grabbed her by the arm, stopping them, “Oh my god! What happened? Was she alright?”

Gail patted Holly’s hand that was still holding her arm. “She must have heard her coming, just as the knife was coming down she turned and grabbed the crazy woman and flipped her to the ground and pinned her. I was the coolest thing I had ever seen.”

“So the cop, she was okay?” Holly asked as she released Gail’s arm.

“Not a scratch on her.” Gail said as she leaned up against the car. Holly was silent as she unlocked the doors.

They drove with only the sound of the radio on until Holly asked, “Do you think that she was scared?”

Gail turned to her, “Who the woman that was flipped upside down? Yeah I think she might have wet herself.”

Holly shook her head, “No, no the cop.”

Not sure of how she should answer the question, Gail tapped the dashboard a moment before answering, “I don’t know Holly, it happened really quickly. Cops get trained to react without their feelings interfering. She didn’t have time to be scared, maybe afterward when it was over and she had time to think about it but I don’t know.”

Holly nodded slowly, “Do you think that you will be scared? I mean when you are actually a cop.”

“Sometimes. Bad things happen.” Gail wasn’t sure she wanted to go down this path.

Holly pulled up in front of her loft and turned off the engine, “And you are okay with that? Running off to places where people are trying to hurt you? Shoot at you?”

“I am going to be a police officer Hol, it is kinda the job.”

Holly sighed and opened her door, Gail could barely hear her say under her breath, “Doesn’t mean that I have to like it.”

“Did you say something Holly?” Gail asked prodding as she followed Holly to the building’s front entrance.

“Nothing.” She unlocked the door and stopped, turning to face Gail, “No not nothing, I know that I have only known you a month but we are friends and I am going to worry about you…I am going to worry about you and Dov…and Chris...you. I don’t like worrying Gail and you are going to make me worry.”

This declaration brought Gail up short, she wasn’t prepared for this kind of honesty, “I…I don’t want you to worry Holly. I will be alright, we all will.”

“You don’t know that. Anything can happen, you said it yourself ‘it is kinda the job’. Face it I am going to worry and you can’t stop me.” Holly said as she walked briskly up the stairs.

Gail really didn’t know how to respond, she knew what she was getting into. Gail had lived with the worry that comes from being in a cop family her entire life; she had never really considered how a person from outside that life would feel. “Wait up, what if I promise to be very careful?”

Holly gave a short laugh, “It might help.” She unlocked her door and let Gail inside.

Gail dropped her messenger bag on the floor by the couch and turned to see Holly watching her. “You care about me don’t you nerd?” she teased as she sat down pulling out her books as Holly left the room.

Now it could have been her imagination but she could have sworn she heard Holly say ‘More than you know.’ as she left to change but that could have been wishful thinking.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Ta da chapter 3! What do you think about it? Let me know, good or bad I like hearing from you.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly's pov

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer, all mistakes are mine and I don’t own Rookie Blue or its characters.

Holly’s pov

She glanced over at Gail as she furiously wrote down what Dr. Cavanaugh was lecturing about preservation of the remains during adverse conditions, basically a do’s and don’ts of when to cover up the body. Holly had already had this particular lesson the previous year so she didn’t feel too bad as she let her mind wander. She watched Gail try to blow a loose strand of hair away from her face as she leaned over her paper and Holly was tempted to brush it away for her but resisted. The urge to touch Gail in some way was growing stronger and Holly knew that giving in to that temptation would be dangerous.

Eight weeks…that was how long Gail had been in her life. It was strange at times it felt like she had known the blonde forever and at other times it was as if she had just magically appeared. When she met Gail she had felt an attraction to her, who wouldn’t? But in no time at all Holly felt a connection to her a need to be around her, to talk to her and now an urge to touch her. She knew that she was walking a fine line with Gail and she didn’t want to scare her away but there was a growing need to see how far Holly could push. The med student returned to the land of the studying when Gail nudged her shoulder, “Come on nerd, class is over.” Holly grabbed her notebook and shoved it in her bag before following Gail out of the room. “I don’t know how you expect to pass the class if you don’t pay attention. I might have to find a new nickname for you…something like dumb-dumb.” Gail said as they exited the building and were hit with a strong cold wind gust.

 Holly shivered as they walked towards her car, “Don’t worry I know the material, my nickname is safe for now but I do have a real name you could use as well.”

“I know that _nerd_ , but I like calling you that. And you should feel special not everyone gets an official Gail Peck approved nickname.” Gail emphasized.

Holly couldn’t hold back her laugh as they reached her car, “Gail you have nicknames for everyone! Half the time I don’t think you even know their real name.”

Gail got in the jeep and turned towards Holly as she buckled her seatbelt, “That is so not true!”

“You call Chris- Elmo, Dov-Idiot, Andi-Princess, Traci-Hall Monitor, you even have a nickname for Dov’s lab partner.” She counted off on her fingers.

Gail folded her arms and pouted, “Fine, from now on I will call you Holly or would you prefer Ms. Stewart?”

Holly smiled as she parked the car in front of her building, “Gail I don’t care what you call me, nerd is kind of growing on me.”

“Good because I had no intentions of stopping.” Gail announced before darting out of the car and running towards the building’s front door, leaving Holly alone in the jeep.

Shaking her head, “Didn’t think that you would.” Holly said to no one in particular as she braced herself for the bitter cold wind that was blowing. She rushed to the door to unlock it for a very impatient Gail, who was frowning under her hood. Holly held the door open for her and walked up the stairs to her loft, she thought she saw the power flicker but continued up.

Once inside the loft Gail went about her routine of taking off her boots and flopping on the sofa. Holly slipped her own boots off and went to grab some drinks for them but as she opened the fridge door the room was pitched into darkness. “Holly…did you forget to pay your electric bill or something?” she heard from the living room area. Holly didn’t need to answer as they heard a gust of wind punch the windows.

Holly fumbled in the dark trying to find her flashlight, when she finally found it the batteries were so low that only a dim beam of light shown from it but it was enough to find her way back to Gail and to locate the candles on the fireplace mantle.

In the dim light she could see the Gail looked uncomfortable and she couldn’t help but tease a little, “Is the mighty Peck afraid of the dark?” she joked as she lit the candles.

“I am not afraid, just not a big fan of the wind and dark combo. Maybe I should head home before this gets any worse.” She got up as Holly went to look out the windows.

“Hold up Gail, I think it got worse. Look.” Not only was the neighborhood dark but snow had started to come down.  

“Well that settles that. I am staying with you tonight.” Gail announced as she sat back on the couch. “We will discuss who gets the bed later.” She said cheekily.

_An hour or so later_

Holly was enjoying sitting on the floor by the fireplace that Gail had managed to light make after finding some dry wood in a storage closet down the hall. “How did you know how to light the fire?”

Gail shrugged as she draped a blanket over herself, “I learned as part of my Peck survival course.”

“Do I even want to know what that is?” Holly asked as she leaned against the couch by Gail’s legs.

“When I was eight my parents took me to my grandpa’s cabin for a weekend. My mom drove me out to see the waterfall a few miles from the cabin and then we went on a hike through the woods. I was having a great time until my mom told me that this was far enough and handed me a small backpack. She smiled and told me that everything that I needed was in the pack and that I had two days to find my way back to the cabin. She then gave me a walkie talkie, but warned me that if I used it I would have failed the test and then she left me there in the woods.”

“Wow. Your mom sounds like a real piece of work. What did you do?” Holly asked trying to imagine an eight year old Gail alone in the woods.

“I went through the backpack and found a few matches, some rope, a knife, a tiny tarp and small pan. I walked in the direction where I thought I heard the waterfall but I was in a canyon and sound echoed. I found the stream that I knew would eventually lead back to the cabin but it was late so I had to set up camp. I fashioned a tent out of the rope and tarp and decided that I needed a fire. It took all but one of my matches to start a fire and I knew from camping that needed to boil any water before I drank it so I got some water from the stream and boiled it. It got dark fast and a storm rolled in. I was hungry and tired, not to mention wet from the rain but I refused to use the walkie talkie. I couldn’t let her win. The fire went out because of the wind and rain and I sat under my little tarp shivering in the dark until I fell asleep.”

“No wonder you don’t like the dark.” Holly commented as Gail scooted off the couch to join her on the floor.

Gail nodded and a small smile graced her face, “I lasted all night in the wind and the rain and in the morning the sun was out and I made it home after hiking all day. You should have seen the look of surprise on my mom’s face when I walked through the door. She had the walkie talkie clipped to her belt and when she saw me she took it off and switched it off and gave me a nod of approval. I think that was the only time that I could tell that she was proud of me.” Gail said as she stretched, “In other news not a big fan of camping.”

Holly laughed and pulled the blanket off of the couch and covered them both with it. “My idea of camping include smores and hot dogs.”

“That does sound a lot better, I had to eat bugs…enough about this…” Gail started before the wind whistled loudly. “Your turn to distract me.” She said as she leaned into Holly.

Holly’s mind went to all of the different ways that she could _distract_ the other girl but she pushed those aside. “Distract you how?”

“I don’t know…how does this lesbian thing work?”

Holly turned to look at the other girl, did she hear her right? “Seriously? Gail do I need to find some Barbie dolls or something to demonstrate the mechanics?”

Gail rolled her eyes, “I am not a complete idiot, I know how that _stuff_ works…kind of.” Holly had to laugh at the wild hand gestures that Gail was using to prove her knowledge of the mechanics. “No I guess I mean how did you know that you were a lesbian?”

“You mean did I wake up one morning and decided that I liked boobs?” Holly teased as she enjoyed Gail’s face reddening.

“Did you?” Gail pressed.

“It didn’t work that way for me, it was more like a lot of little things happened before I decided that I liked women.”

“Tell me about the little things.”

“You really want to know?”

Gail nodded and looked sincere, “I do.”

 Holly shifted a little so that she was facing the curious blonde, her pale skin practically glowed in the firelight. “I should start at the beginning, you remember that I skipped quite a few classes in high school.” Gail nodded and Holly continued, “I actually graduated with my older sister’s class, so you can imagine that as a fifteen year old I wasn’t really social. I spent most of my time studying and not a lot of time socializing. It wasn’t like I didn’t have any friends but dating…dating didn’t even cross my mind. And when I started college it was weird because I was so much younger than everyone else.”

“So what did you do?” Gail interrupted.

“I was getting to that. Anyway so my freshman year roommate was actually my sister’s best friend Allie. I had known her almost all of my life. Allie was that girl that everyone liked in school, cheerleader, star of the girls’ basketball team, dated hockey team captain and was the class president…but what I liked about Allie was that she never treated me like a little kid.”

“So you fell for Allie?”

“Would you stop interrupting and just listen?” Holly said in her best teacher voice.

Gail rolled her eyes, “Fine…but I am calling it now, you totally hooked up with your roommate.”

Holly shook her head, “Shush…now where was I?”

“You were about to tell me how you got lured into the cheerleader’s bed.” Gail smirked.

“I think that you have watched too many bad pornos with the boys.”

“It happened one time because we lost the remote and we agreed to never discuss it again.” Gail protested.

“Back to my story, so the first part of my freshman year I spent busting my ass studying, I spent more time in the library than I did in my dorm room.”

Gail coughed, “ _Nerd_.”

Holly ignored her and continued, “I barely saw Allie because of our different schedules and then I was supposed to go home for a long weekend but ended up staying because I had a paper due. The night that I was supposed to be gone I woke up to hearing the door slam shut and moaning. I was going to say something but then saw that Allie wasn’t alone. In the dark I couldn’t see who was with her but I could tell that it wasn’t Kyle her boyfriend. I watched from under my blanket Allie and her _friend_ fall onto her bed. Clothes went flying and I tried really hard to look away but I just couldn’t. I don’t know why it took me as long as it did but I didn’t realize that Allie was with another girl until I heard her say Allie’s name. There was something about the way she said it, the passion and need that was evident hit me hard. I buried my head under my pillow and started recalling all of the bones in the human body in order of size; smallest to largest.”

“Holly you nerdy little creeper.”

“So in the morning Allie realized that I was in the room and at first didn’t say anything, she looked scared. Her friend laughed at her and got up from the bed wrapped up in the comforter and introduced herself as Jade. In the light of day I could see that she was beautiful, short black hair in a pixie cut, porcelain skin and a brilliant smile. It was her confidence that was most attractive.  Allie was sitting on her bed wearing only a tee shirt and watched us talk. I was more than a little shy and didn’t really say anything except my name. Allie finally worked up the courage to talk and told me that Jade was her girlfriend and that they had been together for two years.”

“I thought you said that she was dating a hockey guy?”

“She was, Allie explained that she had met Jade at basketball camp the summer before her junior year in high school and they had just clicked. Allie’s family was super conservative and would never have approved so she started to _see_ Kyle. It worked out great for everyone, since Kyle was going out with Tim, another guy on the hockey team.”

“Were there any straight people at your school?” Gail chimed in.

“Allie asked me to keep her secret and I told her that I would. It wasn’t long after that morning that Allie and Jade started to include me with going out to movies and basically getting me out of the library. I spent time with Jade when Allie was busy with her own studies. Jade was fun, a total free spirit and she made it her mission to loosen me up.”

“You fell in love with her didn’t you? Jade?” Gail asked softly.

Holly pondered the question, had she fallen for Jade? She was certainly attractive and fun… “No, I didn’t fall for Jade but being around her…I guess it made me realize that there were other options out there. I never would have pictured Allie being in love with another woman but she was and seeing them together…they fit. It didn’t happen all at once but I started to notice girls more, the way they move, the grace…I realized that I didn’t watch boys that way. I spent two years trying to figure out what I wanted when I met Sara, I was in my last year of school and she was a freshman but we were both eighteen. She had been out for three years and walked up to me after a floor party and point blank asked me out. I think I was so shocked that I said yes without thinking. I went back to my dorm room and started to panic, Allie called Jade and told her what happened and she rushed over to talk me down. She asked me if this was what I wanted and after some thought I said that I did. Both of them hugged me and then Allie gave Jade $20. Evidently they had a bet going on when I was finally going to admit that I liked girls and Jade won.”

“What happened with Sara?”

Holly laughed, “I went out with Sara twice and then I found out that she was hooking up with one of the art class models and that ended our brief relationship.”

“Did you have sex with her?”

Holly arched an eyebrow, “Do you have any sense of boundaries?”

“No…not really. So did you?”

“No. No the first girl that I had sex with was when I joined the Peace Corps but that is whole other story.”

“Ah come on!” Gail pouted and then yawned.

Holly shook her head and stood up, “Nope, anyway I am tired and so are you, time for bed.” She extended her hand to Gail and pulled her up. “Let’s find something for you to sleep in.”

They walked over to the bedroom portion of the loft and found some flannel pants and sweatshirt for Gail and she left to change in the bathroom while Holly quickly changed into her own sleepwear. She was pulling a spare blanket out of her closet when Gail spoke behind her, “Thanks for this.”

Holly turned and smiled, “For the jammies, no problem.”

Gail shook her head and took a step closer, she wasn’t wearing the sweat shirt, only a thin tank top with the flannel pants riding low on her hips. “No…well yes thanks for these but what I meant was thanks for trusting me, for sharing that with me.”

“Well we tell each other things…right?” Holly could feel her skin heating up as Gail moved closer.

Gail nodded as she advanced towards her until she was close enough to touch, “We do…and I have something to tell you.” She said in a lower octave.

Holly felt her heart skip a beat, “You do?”

Gail leaned forward until her lips were hovering over Holly’s ear, Holly could feel the blonde’s hot breath on her cheek and she had to fight the urge to turn her head slightly and capture those lips with her own. She could hear Gail lick her lips before whispering, “I get the bed.” Holly could feel the smirk on Gail’s face as the blonde kissed her cheek and then promptly hopped on the bed.

Holly felt like her skin was on fire where Gail’s lips had kissed her and she was thankful for the darkness so that Gail couldn’t see the effect that the friendly kiss had on her. It took her a moment but she finally regained her senses and marched over to the bed and sat next to Gail who was currently burrowing under the covers. She tapped the lump under the blankets and Gail’s head popped out and Holly had to fight the grin that was forming because of Gail’s messed up bedhead. “Who said that you could have my bed?”

“Well I am the guest and you wouldn’t want to be an ungracious hostess would you?” Gail asked innocently.

Holly furrowed her brow, “Fine.” She got up and started for the couch when she heard:

“Wait nerd. The bed is pretty big and it is your bed after all…I guess we can share it.”

“Are you sure?” Holly asked as she walked back towards the bed.

“As long as you don’t plan take all of the blankets I think it will be fine.” Gail said as she lifted the blanket for her. Holly slide into the bed and settled into her pillow, “You know that this is my first time sharing a bed with another woman…hey I am not going to wake up tomorrow in love with boobs am I?”

Holly laughed as she rolled over to face the teasing blonde, her stormy blue eyes sparkled in the dim light and Holly couldn’t help herself, she placed a light kiss on Gail’s perfect lips. It lasted less than a second but it stunned the blond silent. “You are insane.” Holly said as she turned away from her and closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

 

 

 

 [[CO1]](https://d.docs.live.net/bbc492175d18dd61/Documents/lab4.docx#_msoanchor_1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N So I am moving things along, Holly is becoming a little bolder and Gail is well Gail. Let me know what you think.


	5. Chapter 5 Snowbound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gail and Holly's pov

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N A couple of quick things, thank you to all of you that responded to my beta request. I now have a nice team of three that helped me out greatly with this chapter so a big thank you to lesdes, Sassy-Lesbian and VioletW. Disclaimer I don't own Rookie Blue or its characters.

 

Gail’s pov

“Huh.”  Gail thought as she lay motionless in Holly’s bed. “Didn’t see that coming.” She could still feel the other woman’s lips on her own, the urge to run her tongue over them, to see if they tasted different, getting harder and harder to push away. It wasn’t a romantic kiss it was just the med student’s way of shutting her up and it worked, boy did it work. Gail had to admit that she had started it when she pecked Holly’s cheek, this was just payback right? Holly didn’t like her that way, she couldn’t. Either way, sleep was not coming easily to the blonde. There were too many thoughts bumping around in her head, like waves crashing against the rocks, just when one washed away a new one was there to take its place.  She listened to the even shallow breaths of the girl in question next to her. "What are you dreaming about?" Gail pondered as she tried to get comfortable. Before she knew it though, the chaos in her head had died down, the sounds of Holly sleeping next to her lulling the blonde into her own blissful slumber.

The sun broke as Gail jogged down the path by the lake, the sounds of Blondie filling her ears as she pushed herself harder. She was almost to the bend in the trail when she was abruptly forced off and into a thicket of trees. Her abductor stood behind her, hand clasped over her mouth. She found herself pressed against one of the trees, the rough bark digging into her exposed skin as soft hands glided over her body before finding their destination, fingers holding firm at the dip of her pelvic bone. There was a faint hint of vanilla in the air as Gail felt the press of light kisses behind her ear. She knew that she should be scared, that she was supposed to struggle, but all that she could do was lean further into the kisses.

“It is okay to want this.” The voice behind her said softly.  “I know that you want this. Just say yes.” It said a bit more firmly and even though Gail tried hard to turn around she was held securely in place. “No not yet.” It breathed. “You are not ready yet, but soon.”

Gail woke with a start, her heart beating rapidly and with an all too familiar dampness between her legs. She tried to blink away the sleep from her eyes as she took in her surroundings, it was still dark,  the memory of the night before rushing back as she realized the pillow she thought she was clutching wasn't a pillow at all, but Holly, sleeping soundly as Gail's little spoon. Though one arm lay trapped under Holly's sleeping form Gail found herself oddly comfortable, so much so that she unconsciously allowed herself to lean forward, inhaling the scent of Holly’s hair. “No, no this is bordering on creeper territory.” she thought as she pulled back. After staring at the ceiling for a few minutes as she contemplated going back to sleep, Gail noticed that the med student was beginning to stir so she quickly pulled away and rolled over hoping that Holly wouldn’t notice the movement.

“Is it morning?” Holly asked sleepily.

 “I think so.” Gail said as she cleared her throat as she reached for her watch on the night stand. “It is a little before 7. We could go back to sleep.”

“You want to spoon me some more?” Holly teased as she turned to face her.

“I...I…I…” Gail stuttered trying to come up with an excuse; any excuse at all but nothing came to mind.

“Relax Peck. It was cold and it is a natural instinct to seek out heat.” Holly lectured. “Besides, I didn’t mind. It was nice. I mean nice to stay warm…you know what I mean.”

Gail exhaled and smirked a little, happy to be let off of the hook. “Is that your way of saying that I am hot? I get it nerd, you have had a dry spell…lady loving wise.”

“Gail.” Holly warned but the twinkle in her eyes was evident. “Don’t go there.”

“I think that I could help you out with that…”

Holly’s pov

She was sure her jaw dropped at Gail’s offer, was she seriously saying what Holly thought she was saying? “Um…uh…what? Holly managed to get out.

“I could be your wingwoman!” Gail proudly proclaimed bouncing a little on the bed as she sat up. “It would be great, just think with me luring all the young naïve little hotties your way you could end your celibate streak.”

Holly couldn’t help the laugh that built up in her chest, “You want to find me women to sleep with?”

Gail nodded enthusiastically, “Since I have sworn off dating until I finish school and my police academy training at least one of us deserves to get some loving in.”

The med student still wasn’t sure that she understood what the blonde was getting at, “What would this entail?”

“I think that we should hit some of the gay clubs and you just let me work my magic.”

Holly shook her head, “You really are insane. You know that right?”

Gail smirked, “I don’t _suffer_ from insanity nerd, I enjoy it. Now what do you say?”

“With an offer like that how can I turn it down?” Holly responded as she sat up and leaned against the headboard and took in the sight of Gail enjoying her small victory. “So you slept with a woman; did you wake up loving boobs?”  Holly paused considering her own words as she stretched. "You know what? I'm not a twelve year old boy and I really don’t want to sound like one. Did you wake up loving breasts?”

Gail bobbed her head side to side as if she were in serious thought, “You know what I did.” She brought her hands up from her side and smiled as she palmed her own breasts. “I realized that I have fantastic boo…breasts.” She smirked.

“Eh. I have seen better.” Holly teased as she got out of her bed.

Gail jumped up and followed her into the kitchen area, “My breasts are incredible, you would be lucky to find ones that are even half as nice.”

Holly eyed Gail’s chest in an exaggerated way, “I am not saying that they are not nice Gail but I have seen _better_.”

In lieu of a response Gail grabbed Holly's hands and brought them to her chest, holding them firmly in place with her own. "Now tell me with a straight face that these beauties are not fantastic." She tightened her grip on Holly's hands, forcing her to give her breasts a good squeeze. Holly tried so very hard to not take advantage of the situation and run her thumbs over Gail’s nipples but her fingers had a mind of their own. Fortunately for Holly, Gail released her hands before she could feel her up.

“Um…you are right they are extraordinary breasts.”

“Damn right they are. Now I am going to get the fire going again see if you can find a pot that we can put in the fire, I need coffee.” Gail said as she turned away, heading for the fireplace and leaving Holly to remember how to breathe again alone.

It frustrated Holly to no end that Gail could have such an effect on her and then just walk away like seconds before nothing happened. She had to shake it off; if she was going to be snowbound with Gail she was going to need some coffee. Holly went to the bottom cabinet and started to pull out pots and pans looking for the enamel pot that she had used for camping. Go figure it was in the absolute back of the dark dusty cupboard. She had to almost crawl into it to grab the pot and was startled by a hand on the small of her back, Holly jolted up and banged her head, “Frak.” She muttered as she backed out.

“Frak? You even cuss like a nerd.” Gail joked.

Holly rubbed her head as she sat on the floor, she shoved the pot into Gail’s hands. “Coffee is in the canister by the machine, you make it. I need to see if I am bleeding.”

Gail set the pot down on the counter, “Let me look, sit still.” Holly did as she was told and felt Gail part her hair and run her fingers gently through it.  “You look fine, a small bump but you didn’t break the skin. Why don’t you sit on the couch and I will get this going.”

“Thanks, sorry I snapped at you.”

Gail waved her off as she filled the pot with a couple of bottles of water, “That was nothing, you should see how mad Dov gets when I erase his television shows on the dvr. Now that is snappy.”

Holly settled onto the couch and watched Gail position the pot on a rack that she placed in the fire and set Holly’s french press coffee maker on the end table.  “Another Peck survival technique?” Holly asked pointing to the make shift setup in her fireplace.

Smiling sheepishly, “Not exactly. Last year we forgot to pay the electric bill, I thought Dov took care of it, he thought Chris did and Chris thought I did, so we were out of power for a few days. I learned to improvise.” They sat in silence for a few minutes as the water heated until Gail turned to her from the floor. “Can I ask you another question?”

Holly raised her eyebrows, “Since when do you ask permission to ask a question?”

Gail shook her head, “Never mind.”

“Just ask Gail, you never need to ask permission.” Holly said feeling a little curious.

“What is it like to be with another woman?”

She hadn’t expected that question but she was learning that with Gail to expect the unexpected. “I don’t really know how to answer that…”

“Is it the same as with a guy? I know that there are different parts involved but…god I sound so stupid right now. Ignore me.” Gail rambled and Holly smiled at how red she had turned.

“Honestly Gail I wouldn’t know how to compare the two, I have never been with a guy; never even kissed one. Maybe if you described how…”

“How sex is with a guy?” Gail finished for her. “I haven’t had much luck with guys but I think part of the problem was the guys that I was with or maybe it was me but there was always this feeling of urgency.”

“Urgency?”

Gail nodded as she took the hot water from the fire and poured into the french press and pushed the plunger down. “Yeah, the guy always was in a rush to try and get me off before they came and for the most part it wasn’t the most satisfying experience. I don’t think sex is supposed to be a race. Your turn.”

Holly was trying to put the image of Gail with men out of her head and grimaced. “My turn…uh…well I think that…well…I.”

“Use your words nerd, come on you can do it.” Gail teased.

“Do you want an answer or not?” Holly said as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

“Take your time.”

“What I was trying to say is that each experience is different. Sometimes it is mind-blowing, others rush things, and some spend too much time on one thing and ignore everything else. My last girlfriend if you can call her that was more of a receiver than a giver.” Holly started but the Gail cut in,

“What does that mean? You would touch her but she wouldn’t touch you? That is a bunch of crap. I hope you dumped her.”

Holly smiled at Gail’s comment, “Can I finish? Yes, that was basically what happened. She wasn’t comfortable with that kind of intimacy, it was still new to her.”

“So women can be jerks in bed too…interesting. I would have thought that it would be…I don’t know easier.” Gail said absently as she poured Holly a cup of coffee.

“How so? Why would you say easier?”

“Well for one thing we have the same parts, I know how to get myself off 100 times better than any guy ever could.” Gail said and Holly choked on her coffee at that mental image. “You okay?”

Holly nodded her head shakily, “I am fine” she sputtered out as she balanced the cup on her knee.

“Good. How many women have you slept with?”

“Can I say that I am so thankful that I hadn’t taken another sip of coffee before you asked me that?”

“You are avoiding the question Holly. Or are you trying to count them in your head, is really that many that you have to stall?”

“You answer first. What is your number?” Holly didn’t really want to know but she needed time to figure out how she was going to answer.

Gail shrugged, “Fine. Two, I have been with two guys. Mike in high school and Nick.” Holly must had looked shocked because Gail continued, “I made out with way too many people and got the reputation of being a tease which I suppose was warranted but I have only ever had sex with two people.”

“Okay. I know what happened with Nick but what about Mike?” Holly asked.

“Mike was the type of guy my parents hated, he was a in a band and wanted to quit school and go on tour. He had this rough look but he was a sweetheart, he wrote me songs and told me that I could go away with him. I was tempted, he offered me a future so different than the one that lay out before me.”

Holly nodded in understanding, “So what happened?”

“After graduation I ran away with him and it really pissed off Superintendent Mom. I had been gone for about six months when Mike got arrested for trafficking alcohol and other goods across the border, it had my mom’s name written all over it.”

“Was he?”

“Not like that, we had snacks in the van and some of the gigs were on the U.S. side of the border. It wasn’t trafficking. But after the bogus charges were dropped Mike dumped me. I can’t say that I blame him.” Gail admitted as she took a sip.

“Did you love him?”

“I really like him and I loved the idea of him but I don’t think that I loved him. I was in love with the fact that he was my choice and I liked that he didn’t care about my last name. At least he didn’t care until he was threatened with five to ten years in prison.”

“I can see where a prison sentence could be a hiccup in your relationship.” Holly surmised.

Gail smiled and laughed, “Just a small one. Okay now it is your turn.”

Holly took a breath and released it, “Okay, there was Jessica, we met in the Peace Corps, she was my first real girlfriend but that ended when our year was up. She was a few years older than me and really helped me be comfortable with who I am. After Jessica was Julie, we met towards the end of my first year of med school, we went out for almost a year before we realized that we were not moving in the same direction and then there was Leah…”

“So three?”

Holly nodded and Gail sat there quietly holding her cup. After a few minutes of silence Holly asked, “Too many? Too few?”

“Sorry, I…I don’t know what I was thinking. It is fine. Did you love them?”

“Again with the tough questions…”

“I am going to be an officer of the law, asking tough questions is part of the job description. Besides, you asked me.” Gail rationalized.

Holly needed a minute to think her answer through, “I loved Jessica but I knew that it wouldn’t last and I wanted to love Julie but we were better off as friends.”

“And Leah?”

“I never meant for Leah to be a relationship, I thought that it was a one night thing but it turned into something more, at least on her end.” Holly answered as she set her cup down and hugged her knees.

“What happened?”

It was now or never, “Remember when I said that I had my reasons for transferring schools? This was a big part of it. I met Leah at a friend’s birthday party during spring break last year. I had just seen Julie with her new girlfriend and even though we had been apart for a few months and I wanted her to be happy…”

“It hurts to see your ex with someone new.” Gail offered.

“Exactly, so I had more to drink than I planned on and this girl started dancing with me and she was telling me that I was beautiful and next thing I knew we are making out in a spare bedroom and I thought, fuck it I deserve a little fun. Morning comes and I had this god awful hangover and a naked girl holding onto me like her life depends on it. I couldn’t even remember her name.”

“Holly you are quite the player.” Gail said as she joined her on the couch.

“It wasn’t like that…or maybe it was but that isn’t me. Anyway I tried to make my escape but she woke up and wanted to go to breakfast and I didn’t have the heart to say no. I learned that she was a senior and was studying business. We really didn’t have much in common and I thought that I made myself clear when I said that I wasn’t looking for a relationship and when I said goodbye I thought that that was the end of it.”

Gail pulled the blanket over them both, “Let me take a guess, that wasn’t the end of things?”

Holly breathed out loudly, “Not by a long shot. The next day I came back to my apartment that I shared with a friend and found her sitting on the floor by the door. She explained that she had gotten my address from a mutual friend. I asked why she had come and she went on to tell me about this connection that she felt and how she wanted to pursue it. I reiterated that I wasn’t looking for anything serious and she told me that she understood. This was her first time with a girl and just wanted to have some fun. At the time it sounded okay, I wasn’t in the mood for dating and a…a…”

“Fuck buddy?”

“Thank you Gail, yes for lack of better term; fuck buddy as you so kindly put it, worked. I should have known better, after a couple of weeks I could see that Leah had feelings for me and I was getting annoyed with her. She was always interrupting my study group or calling me in the middle of class. She was needy, I couldn’t go a few hours without her checking in with me.” Holly said as she watched the fire dance in the still dim light. “Finally I had had enough and I met her at a café and told her that we were done. I didn’t want to hurt her but I was tired and I said some things that I wish I could take back.”

Gail nodded, “How did she take it?”

Holly could still remember the devastated look on Leah’s face, “Not well. She begged me to give her another chance. She promised that she would try harder to be the girlfriend that I wanted and I told her no. She told me that she loved me and wanted to come out to her parents and I told her that I didn’t love her and if she wanted to come out that that was her own business. I told her to stop calling and to stop coming by my place. I got up and left her crying into her coffee.”

“Harsh.”

There was no denying that it was harsh so Holly nodded in agreement, “I just wanted her to understand.”

“I get it.” Gail said as she squeezed Holly’s knee.

“Thanks. But that isn’t the end of the story. I few days later a tired looking middle man knocked on my door. He explained that he was Leah’s father and that a few nights before she had swallowed the entire contents of the family medicine cabinet. She was in a vegetative state and wasn’t expected to wake up.”

“Damn.” Gail murmured.

“He told me that she had been in and out of institutions since she was fourteen and that this wasn’t the first time that she had tried to hurt herself. He handed me a note and told me that it mentioned me by name and that he just wanted to know what it meant. The note said ‘ _This isn’t your fault Holly’_. I told her father that we had been seeing each other but that I had ended it because I didn’t see a future with her.”

“It was the truth.”

“Not the whole truth.” Holly hung her head as tears started to fall and felt Gail get off of the couch.

“Holly look at me.” She lifted her head to see Gail kneeling in front of her. “Sometimes bad things happen.”

“That is your great words of wisdom? Sometimes bad things happen?” Holly tried to laugh but just choked back a sob.

Gail rolled her eyes as she gently wiped a tear from Holly’s cheek, “Let me finish. You didn’t know that she was unstable, you couldn’t have known that she would react that way. You didn’t put the pills in her hand. You feel guilty but she said it herself, it wasn’t your fault. Don’t carry this guilt with you.”

“Logically I know this…”

“But it isn’t that easy to let go.” Gail finished for her. “This was why you moved?”

Holly nodded, “I had known her for less than a month but suddenly everything reminded me of her and it made me feel sick. I would run into her friends and I could see that they blamed me even if they didn’t say it. As soon as classes ended I put in for a transfer and moved out here. I needed to be somewhere where no one knew what happened.”

Silence engulfed them as Gail stayed kneeling in front of her, she slowly rose and placed a kiss on Holly’s forehead. “I am sorry that you went through that but I am glad that you are here.”

“I am happy to be here.”

“Just think I could be stuck at Skidmarque’s house right now.” Gail said as she sat back on the couch.

“True.” Holly laughed feeling lighter than she had in a long while. She stood and walked over to the windows, snow was still coming down hard and had covered everything in sight. “So what do you want to do today?”

Gail walked over to join her. “Well nerd we could work on our paper about mineral concentrations and how it affects the rate of decomposition _or…_ ”

“Or what?”

“ _Or_ we could use your garbage can lids as sleds. I leave it up to you.”

Holly tapped her chin, “Hmm decomp or sledding? You make both sound so tempting…huh I don’t know…I think I will go with sledding.”

“Good choice, but I am so going to beat the pants off of you. I am the sledding master of the universe.” Gail boasted as Holly headed towards the kitchen.

“Is that so? We will have to see about that.” Retorted Holly as she turned to put her cup in the sink but was stopped by Gail who pulled her into a tight hug; it didn’t last long but Holly could feel the emotion behind it and found herself holding on just as tight. “What was that for?” she questioned as Gail released her and walked towards the bathroom.

Gail turned her head and called over her shoulder, “You said it yourself, I am insane. Why do I do anything?”

Holly chuckled as the blonde walked out of sight and then sighed as she chanted in her head “Gail is my friend, she is only my friend…even if I want more.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N I have been trying to update once a week but something happened at work Friday that is going to keep me away from home more so I don’t know when I am going to be able to update again. Be patient with me. Reviews are always welcome.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow Day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Sorry for the delay, I could give a long list of excuses but suffice to say that I haven't been home for more than a few hours at a time and that didn't leave anytime for writing. I want to thank all of you for the reviews and for all of the new follows and favorites. I can't believe that this story has over a hundred reviews! I didn't have a chance to let my team of beta readers go over the chapter first so all mistakes are mine. As always I don't own Rookie Blue or its' characters.

 

Chapter 6

Holly's pov

Thankfully classes had been canceled for the day so they didn't have to attempt to try and leave the comforts of the loft. It was still too early to attempt sledding but it was light enough to read so they had decided to get a little studying done before Gail showed Holly how to properly sled. However Gail had passed out on the couch with her head on Holly's shoulder not even fifteen pages into her chapter on international police procedures concerning minors. Holly lowered Gail onto her lap so that the girl would be more comfortable and she found herself studying the blonde more than on her own homework. When she was awake Gail had this liveliness that was almost electric but when she was sleeping it amazed Holly how that vibrancy changed to serenity. She loved watching the subtle movements the other girl made as she dreamed, the flutter of her eyelids, the way the corners of her mouth curved into a slight smile, even the miniscule twitch of her nose made Holly smile. As Holly watched it finally dawned on her that she was falling for this girl. No inner mantra was going to change what her heart was screaming, she didn't want Gail as her friend. No, she wanted Gail and the thought made her stomach twist into a tight knot because she knew that she was never going to have Gail the way she wanted.

Sure she had had her fair share of crushes but this didn't feel like a simple crush. Holly wasn't used to having these types of feelings for a person happen so quickly. It wasn't as if she was closed off but she was cautious about letting people get close. She had that in common with Gail. She understood some of the reasons Gail built walls around herself, it couldn't have been easy growing up the way she did and anyone would be hesitant about dating when your boyfriend tells you that he has fallen for your roommate. Since she started dating she had never pursued anyone she always was the one pursued. Maybe it was a fear of rejection or maybe it had something to do with her habit of nervous rambling around new people but she didn't make it a habit of approaching people but Gail was the exception. For whatever reason Holly had no problem talking to Gail, there was an ease between the two of them that formed after minutes that took weeks for her and Jessica. As Holly gave into the urge to stroke Gail's hair away from her eyes she thought how she had never been this comfortable with Julie. No, there was something about Gail that was different, that made her different and she liked it.

Holly closed her book, there was no use studying when she was so distracted. She looked down on Gail and sighed as the blonde shifted in her sleep mumbling something about it not being the right time. Holly would have to remember to ask her about her dream later. She leaned her head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, "Why did it have to be Gail?" she thought as she traced a crack in the plaster back to the wall with her eyes. "Why did she have to have feelings for the one person in her life that she couldn't afford to chase off?" It wasn't fair but as her grandfather liked to say what was fair?

She cast her head down and closed her eyes as she shook her head, "It's a crush, a stupid harmless crush. It will go away as quickly as it came." She thought as she felt Gail stir. Holly opened her eyes and found Gail staring up at her, a confused look on her face.

"I feel asleep?"

Holly laughed, "The drool puddle on my leg would suggest so."

Gail sat up and rolled her shoulders, "Sorry. You know you don't make a bad pillow."

"Thanks I think. You were talking in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?"

A strange look washed over Gail's face and she turned her head away, "I don't remember." She cleared her throat and turned back to Holly. "So you ready to sled?"

Holly wanted to press for more about the dream that clearly had her friend a little rattled but knew better than to push. "Yeah, but I will have you know that I am pretty good." She said with a lopsided smirk.

Gail tapped her chest over her heart, "Nerd I could have gone pro."

"Pro? Professional sledder…pretty sure that isn't a thing. Unless you are talking about luge or bobsledding." Holly countered as she offered her hand to pull the blonde up from the couch. Gail took her hand and Holly pulled her up a little harder than intended and found herself a breath apart from the blonde. Holly took a sharp intake of breath at the closeness and was dazed momentarily by the scent of Gail, a mix of freesia and vanilla. Holly stumbled back a step and let go of Gail's hand and walked towards her bedroom area. "Come on pro let me find you some clothes."

Gail sat on the bed as Holly started to pull clothes out of her drawer. She pulled out a pull-over and some old ski pants and tossed them to her. Gail examined them as she watched Holly pull out some similar clothing for herself. "Huh, I would have thought that you would have more fleece."

Holly started to unbutton her pajama top revealing her gray tank top underneath, "Why?"

She could be mistaken but for a few seconds it looked like Gail was staring at her chest before the other girl averted her eyes. "I just figured lesbians and fleece go together like…like…"

Holly turned as pulled off the tank and stood topless with her back to the blonde and decided to tease her for a moment, she turned her head to see a very red faced Gail. "Like cops and doughnuts?"

She could hear Gail start to stutter as she put on a simple black bra and replaced the tank top with a gray button-up henely shirt. "Not all cops like doughnuts."

"Not all lesbians live in fleece." Countered Holly as she sat on the bed to pull on her snow pants over her flannel pajama pants.

"Fine. I will admit though that I love doughnuts." Gail said as she held the shirt up to her chest to judge the size and then slipped it on over her tank top.

"You are not a cop."

Gail hopped up to shimmy the pants on. "Yet. I am not a cop yet. Give me about eight months."

"Seriously that soon?" Holly asked as she laced up her boots.

The soon-to-be cop walked over to the door to grab her boots from where she had left them the day before and plopped on the floor to pull them on. "Roughly, I graduate in a little over three months and then the next police academy enrollment is two weeks after graduation and it is a twelve week course."

"Wow. For some reason I thought it would take longer."

Gail shook her head as she sat on the floor looking up at Holly, "Nope." She said popping the 'p'. "Now are you ready nerd?"

Holly laughed as they both put on their coats. Holly looked through the closet by the door and found what she was looking for. "Here, it suits you."

Gail held up the Oscar the Grouch hat and scowled. "Really?"

Holly locked the door and smiled. "Time to put up or shut up Peck." Gail glared but there was a hint of a smile threatening to erupt so Holly kept at it, "Or are you all talk?"

_Twenty minutes later_

Gail's pov

"You cheated!" Gail exclaimed after losing for the third time in a row. "Your lid is more aerodynamic or something." She pouted.

Holly pursed her lips and vigorously shook her head, "Nooo. Nooo. You don't get to make excuses, we traded lids after the second run and you still lost. So I guess that makes me MASTER OF THE SLEDDING WORLD!" she yelled as she danced around Gail, arms in the air signaling victory.

Gail rolled her eyes, "Whatever nerd…I let you win." She turned to walk back towards the loft when she felt something hit her in the back of the head. She couldn't believe that Holly had hit her with a snowball. "You do realize that this means war don't you?" she seethed as she started to gather her ammo.

"Bring it!" Holly called as she ducked behind a mostly buried car. Gail packed the perfect snowball in her gloved hands and took aim and as she was about to throw it Holly pegged her right in the face with a snowball of her own. Before Gail had a chance to regroup and throw she was hit again.

"What the fuck nerd!"

Holly stepped out from her cover and made a show of packing another snowball, "Did I not mention that I was on the softball team as well in college? Pitcher."

Gail rolled her eyes and shook her head as she dropped her snowball and raised her hands in surrender, she knew when to walk away. "You failed to mention that. You win."

Holly smirked, "What was that? I couldn't hear you, it sounded like you said that I won."

Gail hated losing, it was right up there with the mandatory Peck family dinners as far as she was concerned but she had to admit it was amusing to see Holly look so excited. She called out a little louder, "You win. Now can we go inside? I think you may have given me a concussion with that last hit."

A smiling Holly dropped her snowball and ran up to Gail, "So let's see; I won the last time we went for a run and then I won the sledding race and I just beat the pants off of you with the snowball fight…"

"No one likes a cocky winner Holly." Gail warned but smiled despite herself, she kind of liked cocky Holly.

The med student was about to reply when she slipped on the step to the building's door and fell taking Gail down with her. Holly landed right on top of Gail, her body flush with her own, she could see Holly's face blush with embarrassment but it was her eyes that drew attention. They darkened and Gail noticed the hints of gold flecks that flashed in the light; they were mesmerizing. Holly broke her out of her trance, "I am so sorry, are you alright?" She said as she pushed herself up and off of Gail.

"No, no…it is okay, I am fine. Are you? Fine I mean…are you okay?" Gail mentally slapped herself for sounding like an idiot.

Holly helped her brush the snow off of her, "I am great, you acted as the perfect crash pad."

Satisfied that she had all of the snow off of her Gail offered her hand to Holly as they braved the icy stairs together, "Well I was raised to serve and protect, I guess crash pad falls under protect part."

Holly just smiled that crooked smile of hers and unlocked the door. They walked in silence up to the loft Gail knew that she should probably try calling Dov or Chris and letting them know where she was. If she stayed off of the radar too long they would go out looking for her and the roads were still too dangerous to travel on. "I need to call the boys." She announced as they started shedding their damp jackets and boots.

"They don't know that you are here?" Holly asked raising an eyebrow, "Not good, they are probably worried about you."

Gail waved her off, "They most likely already figured out that I am here. Lately the only places I go are classes, home and here. They saw me leave school with you so they probably assume that I stayed with you too. But I will call them anyway." After a brief scolding by Dov about him not knowing if she was laying frozen in a ditch somewhere, she agreed that she would at least text him if she wasn't going to be home.

After she finished with her call she sat down on the couch and watched a crouched Holly bring the ailing fire back to life. Gail pulled the blanket tighter around her as there was still a chill in the air. "Do you think the power will come back on soon?" she asked as Holly joined her on the couch. Holly shrugged as she shivered a little and Gail took that moment to scoot a little closer to her and share the blanket.

"So Dov was concerned?"

Gail rolled her eyes and gave a subtle nod, "He can be worse than a parent sometimes."

"It's nice to have someone worry about you, you seem close." Holly commented as she tucked her legs under her.

Gail thought a moment before answering, "We are, he is like another brother. Sometimes I love him and other times I wish that I could throw him off of a cliff."

"I get that, I feel the same way with my siblings. You said before that you have been friends since high school? He did you a favor of some sort?"

An involuntary shiver ran down Gail's spine and it wasn't from the cold, she didn't like to think about that particular memory. Normally she would change the subject or simply refuse to answer but this was Holly and…well they could tell each other things. Gail took a breath and slowly let it out and Holly turned to give Gail her full attention. "Once upon a time I wasn't the responsible together person you see before you, don't laugh!" she warned and Holly smiled that stupid but charming smile of hers and Gail continued. "In high school I was a mess, you would think that a police officer's kid would be more…better behaved I guess but I was wild. I drank way too much, I stayed out all night, I hitchhiked and a pushed my luck with the wrong guys. A shrink would probably tell me that I just wanted my parents' attention but it was more than that…I needed the chaos for some reason. Anyway I went to this college party when I was sixteen, I didn't know anyone there and I was more than a little drunk when this creepy older guy wouldn't stop staring at me. I had enough sense to leave but when I went to grab my coat from the downstairs bedroom the creep…" Gail's words caught in her throat. It had happened years ago but it felt like just the other day.

She felt Holly's hand squeeze her own under the blanket, "Did he hurt you?" she asked softly.

Gail looked down and bit her lip, "He blocked the door and grabbed me by the throat and backhanded me, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't scream. I fought him…Holly I fought him with everything I had but I was blacking out and he was so much bigger. I remember hearing someone at the door and the creep punched me in the stomach and shoved me in the closet and said that if I made a sound he would kill me if I said a word. It is kind of funny I remember the closet in such detail, it was so small and in the darkness it smelled like damp socks and cedar. I searched for anything that could be used as a weapon but the only thing that I could find was a plastic coat hanger and an old nike sneaker. I could barely move, he had broken one of my ribs when he hit me, I knew that my only hope was the person that was at the door. I peeked out through the keyhole and saw Dov standing at the doorway, I recognized him from school. He looked so small compared to the creep, he was a good four inches shorter then and so scrawny. I knew that he wasn't my hero. I think that I was going into shock because everything was starting to blur but I could hear him ask for his coat and then I heard a crashing sound and the next thing I knew the closet door opened and Dov was standing there panting holding out his hand for me to take." Gail rubbed her ribs unconsciously and felt Holly pull her closer. "Dov brought me to the hospital and waited with me until my parents showed up. He told me that he saw the creep follow me and had a bad feeling about it and when I didn't come out after a few minutes he wanted to make sure that I was okay. He thought he heard me in the closet and waited until the creep's back was to him and then he hit him with a lamp on the head."

Holly sat silently for a minute before responding softly, "Wow…what happened to the creep?"

Gail gave a snort of disgust, "When my parents finally got to the hospital I expected them to I don't know act like parents but no my mom was off in her own little world where this "little rebellion" of mine was going to hurt her career. It turned out that the creep's name was Ross Perick, star of the university's hockey team and more importantly the son of deputy mayor. My mother informed me that this event didn't happen, if people asked why I was injured I was to tell them that I fell down the stairs. I tried to protest and she patted my shoulder and told me that she was doing me a favor, if word got around that I had been assaulted that I would never be taken seriously as a police officer and that I needed to toughen up."

"I hate your mom. I have never hated anyone before but I despise the woman. I am so sorry Gail." Holly said as she kissed Gail's cheek. "So not a damn thing happened to this Perik creep?"

Gail leaned her head onto Holly's shoulder, "I learned that a few weeks later he attacked another girl during an away game…she hadn't been as lucky as me. He raped her and left her in a coma. Thankfully he wasn't very smart and left a lot of evidence behind the police there arrested him. He is going to be in prison for a long time. I just can't help but think that if I had gone to the police I could have saved that girl."

She found herself being pulled into a tight embrace, "You were sixteen and scared, you were not responsible, your mom and dad were." Holly rubbed small comforting circles on Gail's back, "So Dov did you one hell of a favor."

"Yeah, afterwards I felt drawn to him since he was the only one that knew the truth. I found that he was just as screwed up as I was, his older brother had died of a drug overdose involving some bad heroin not long before we met and his parents' way of dealing was for his mom to go catatonic and for his dad to stay out all night at bars. He had gone to that party to find the guy that had sold his brother the bad drugs."

"Poor Dov…he seems like such the upbeat guy."

Gail eased out of Holly's arms and nodded, "He is and somehow he has been able to let the bad go. Even when his dad walked out on him and his mom right before graduation and he had to put college off for a year to take care of her he is still this happy guy."

"I had wondered how you and he were in the same year if you had taken a year off before starting school that explains it." Holly said as the room became engulfed in light. "The power is back on." She said stating the obvious.

Gail got up from the couch and walked to the windows, "The snow plow has come by, the road is clear."

Holly stood bringing the blanket with her, "So I guess that means that you will be heading home." Gail wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement.

"Eager to get rid of me nerd?"

Holly laughed as swatted Gail's arm, "No actually I have grown accustom to your special brand of snark."

"Good because we have plans tonight."

Holly tilted her head to the side in confusion, "Plans?"

"Wingwoman…remember?"

"You were serious about that?"

Gail nodded, "You bet. Tonight you will put on your nicest flannel shirt and we will find you a girl."

"Again with the stereotypes Gail...look at what you are wearing."

Gail looked down at her shirt, it was a red and black flannel shirt that belonged to her. "What? I love this shirt, it is comfy and I look good in red."

"Never mind." Holly said shaking her head as Gail texted Chris to come pick her up, luck would have it he was already in the area.

Gail gathered her belongings, it was almost one in the afternoon. "I am going to head back home and finish up my other homework and get ready for a night out. Pick me seven o'clock. If you get lucky I will call a cab to get home." She said in her best authoritative voice.

"Yes ma'am." Holly saluted. "You know that this is going to be a disaster don't you?"

Gail saw Chris's car pull up on the street and grabbed her bag and headed for the door, "Have faith Hol. I won't let you down." She was halfway out the door when she did an about face and walked back to Holly and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before running back out the door before seeing what kind of reaction Holly had. Part of her told her that she did it to one up the med student but a nagging voice said differently…she wanted to kiss her.

_Seven o'clock_

Holly's pov

She impatiently tapped the steering wheel as she waited for the blonde to join her in the car, this felt all wrong. She didn't want Gail to find her a girlfriend, she wanted Gail to  _be_  her girlfriend. But since that wasn't an option she needed to make the best out of the situation so that meant dressing up and letting Gail fix her up with random girls. She wanted to throttle Gail, there were so many mixed signals; the spooning, the random kisses, the general closeness between them…and then this…

Holly was snapped out of her thoughts by Gail hopping into the seat next to her. "You ready?" Instead of answering Holly simply put the jeep into drive and headed off to her favorite club. It was too dark in the car to see what the blonde was wearing but was pleased to see that instead of her usual ponytail Gail had opted for having her hair loose with wavy curls. "I have a good feeling about this." Gail said as she fiddled with the radio.

"That makes one of us." Holly muttered.

"You say something?"

"I don't know about this Gail. I don't do things like this." Holly confessed.

Gail put her hand on Holly's thigh and gave it a light squeeze, "All the more reason, Holly you are a smart, funny, sexy as hell woman and anyone would be lucky to be with you. You just need to put yourself out there."

"You think so?"

Gail nodded, "I know so."

Holly stopped at the traffic light and made a turn that led them back to the loft. "Fine but you are paying for my drinks and I think that I am going to need a lot of them, we are taking a cab." Gail laughed and Holly couldn't help but notice that the blonde's hand was still resting on her leg.

Gail took the initiative to call a taxi while Holly pulled back into her parking space. The pair sat in silence as they waited until Gail cleared her throat, "So is a lesbian club like other clubs except that it is all girls or are there special rules?"

"Well you need to show them your Sapphic society membership card and then there is the secret handshake."

"Seriously?"

Holly laughed as the taxi came into view, "No Gail, it is like any other club except it has more girls. Gail are you nervous?"

Gail got out of the jeep and opened the door of the taxi, "I am not nervous I just like to be prepared."

Holly buckled up and gave the driver the address of the club before returning her attention to Gail, "You sound nervous. The scary lesbians won't bite unless you want them to." She teased. "We can call tonight off if you want, there is a C.S.I. marathon starting in half an hour…"

She was cut off by Gail, "No, you are not getting out of this." The taxi stopped and Gail paid the driver. "Put on your game face nerd, we are here."

Holly put on her best fake smile and got out of the car, this was going to be a long night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Quite a few people let me know that they were not happy with the idea of Gail being Holly's wingwoman but let me reassure you that everything will work out, I do have a plan. In other news I own an Oscar the Grouch hat that I wear proudly. Next chapter…club adventures and Gail getting a little jealous. Stay tuned! Reviews will not only make me happy but might make me find more time to write. *hint*hint*


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wingwoman Gail!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Sorry about the wait but I hope this is worth the wait. As always I don’t own Rookie Blue or its’ characters. All mistakes are mine.

 

Gail’s pov

“Okay maybe this wasn’t the best idea,” she said to herself as she opened the door to the club. As Gail glanced around the room her earlier confidence crumbled. Sure she had helped Chris and Dov hit on women before but this was different…this was Holly.  Gail credited herself on having a talent for being able to find the easily impressed women from the herd and serve them up to the boys. Could she really just chat up some strange woman and pass her off to Holly and call it a night? The thought was very unsettling.

“Gail? Gail are you going to take off your coat?” she heard Holly ask over the loud music.

She turned to her and nodded as she unbuttoned her coat and saw that Holly had ducked under the coat check counter and was hanging up her coat as held out her hand for Gail’s coat. “What are you doing weirdo?”

“What does it look like am a doing Miss ignores the obvious?” Holly said teasingly as she beckoned with her long fingers for Gail to pass over the coat that Gail was currently clutching to her chest. For the first time since Holly had picked her up Gail saw what the other woman was wearing; black leather pants that looked impossibly tight and form fitting and a pale green button up shirt that hugged her in all the right places. Gail found her mouth go dry. “Gail…coat?” Holly urged, snapping her out of her daze.

“Right…right…here.” Gail said as she finally handed it over.

“That will be two dollars.” Holly said smartly as she handed Gail a coat check ticket.

Gail arched an eyebrow, “You have got to be kidding me.” Holly shook her head and held out her open palm. Gail begrudgingly fished in her purse for the correct change before handing it over to the overly smug woman. “Tip too.” Holly chirped as she tapped the tip jar.

“Don’t push your luck nerd. I only have a five and I planned on giving it to the bartender.”

“Fine I will cover the tip, I never knew you were so cheap.” Holly said as she hopped up on the counter and swung her legs over it to drop down on the other side.

Gail was momentarily stunned by the gracefulness of the med-student but recovered quickly, “I am not cheap, I simply think that the bartender is going to work a lot harder for me tonight than the absentee coat checker.”

Holly nodded, “I can see your point and if I am going to survive tonight it is going to take quite a few drinks. Think you can keep up?”

Gail crossed her arms and shook her head, “Keep up? With you? You make me laugh.” She said as she walked towards the bar, she needed a drink and she needed it now.

Holly’s pov

Holly couldn’t help but stare as Gail walked away, her head tilted to the side as her eyes drifted south and watched as Gail’s hips swayed subtly to the music. It had to be illegal how good the soon to be cop looked in those jeans. Holly had to visibly shake it off, tonight was not about ogling Gail…it was about getting over her.  She watched Gail lean over the bar to grab the bartender’s attention and Holly was given the perfect view of the blonde’s perfectly sculpted ass and Holly had to shut her eyes; Gail was killing her. “This is going to be a long night.” She said softly as she took a seat at the bar. Gail smiled as the bartender poured a shot of tequila. “Make mine a double.”

The bartender arched an eyebrow but poured the drink and Holly knocked it back with a wince and tapped the bar to hit her again. “Easy tiger.” The woman said with a smirk.

Gail slammed her shot and turned towards the dance floor as the bartender walked away to serve someone else. “So what is your type? Tall? Short? Sporty? Curvy? Butch? Femme?”

Holly cut her off as some of her drink dribbled down her chin and she wiped it away, “Whoa! Slow this lesbian stereotype train down. Gail did you go on google today?” With a shrug and a smirk Gail stayed silent. Holly shook her head and turned towards the dance floor and sighed. “Well if you are going to do this just get it over with.”

“So no preference? Come on you don’t have a type?” Gail prodded as she hopped off her stool.

Thinking back to her previous girlfriends and crushes none of them had much in common, they all certainly looked different; Jessica was an impulsive redhead from Nebraska that joined the Peace Corps that joined on a dare. Julie was almost a foot shorter than Holly and during the time that Holly had known her the girl’s hair had gone from pink, purple to fluorescent green. Holly didn’t even know what her natural hair color was. Julie worked at a publishing house. And Leah was…

“No I don’t have a type.” Holly answered as she felt the alcohol start to take effect.

Gail started to back onto the dance floor, “Okay then. Watch the master at work.”

Holly turned back to the bar and flagged down the bartender, “Another please and my friend would like to run a tab.”

The bartender smiled and poured the drink, “Sure. You girls driving?”

Holly lifted the shot to her lips and sipped, “Nope.”

“Alrighty then, enjoy.”

She was about to ask if they served any food, she hadn’t eaten anything and the strong liquor was going to hit her hard if she didn’t get something in her stomach when her phone rang. Holly fumbled around for it in her purse when she recognized that it was Jade’s ringtone. She managed to answer before it went to voice mail.

“Heya Jade.”

“Hi Holls, what is with all of the noise? Oh my freaking god! Allie has hell frozen over? I think our little Holly is out at a bar!” Jade laughed.

“I am at a club and I will have you know that I do go out…not frequently but I do have a life.” Holly was sure that she heard her friend snort.

“Sure you do. I will bet you my autographed Tegan and Sara guitar that you are at the same club that Allie and I took you to when we helped you move and that this is the first time going back since then.”

Holly said nothing and finished her drink and motioned for another one.

“I am going to take your silence as a yes. So I have to know who managed to drag you out, did you met someone? You did didn’t you?!”

Instead of answering Holly watched as Gail danced across the dance floor, she wasn’t the best dancer out there but there was something about the way she moved that held Holly’s interest.

“Holly are you even listening?”

It was getting a little loud to hear her friend so Holly went back to the still deserted coat check room. Sh sat on the floor. “I am listening Jade.”

“Are you going to answer?”

Holly chewed on her lower lip, “I don’t know how to answer that.”

“It isn’t a trick question?” Jade said slowly. “Holly who is it? You know I won’t judge.”

She sighed, “Remember the last time we talked I told you about how I got partnered up with a criminal justice major for a joint class?”

“Sure…the blonde wannabe cop…wait I thought you said she was straight? You are out with her?”

Holly nodded and then remembered that they were talking on the phone, “Yes. She decided to be my wingwoman. Evidently I need to get laid.” All she heard on the other end of the line was laughter. “It isn’t funny Jade.”

“No it isn’t funny it is hilarious. A straight girl dragged you to a gay bar to get you a girl. And by the way she is right, you do need to get laid.” Jade said as she tried to reign in her laughter.

“Figures that you would be on her side.”

The laughter stopped, “Holly I am always on your side, I just happen to agree with your lab partner on this. What is the problem? Is she bringing you trashy girls?”

“No.”

No one spoke for a while, Holly played with the end of her ponytail and Jade finally broke the silence. “Holly do you have feelings for the blonde?”

“Gail.”

“What?”

“Her name is Gail.”

“Okay…do you have feelings for Gail?”

Holly looked around the small room and then down at her feet and made a point of counting the number of eyelets on her boots before answering. “Yes.”

“Are we talking crush type feelings, lust type feelings or I want to make little blonde cop babies feelings?” Jade asked cautiously.

“I mixture of the last two.”

“Oh Holly…”

“I know…I know. I didn’t want to feel like this, I tried I really did but there is something about her Jade…” Holly trailed off feeling tears forming. “I haven’t felt like this before.” She then went on to describe the last month or so that she had spent with Gail.

“I take it that she doesn’t know? No, of course not, she took you to a club to get you laid.” Jade paused as Holly sniffled. “Holls, you deserve to be happy. Now I don’t know Gail but from everything that you just said she cares about you. Talk to her, she might surprise you.”

Holly shook her head, “I can’t…I could lose her and I need her…” she gulped, “For the project…I need her for the project.”

“You are scared and you have every right to be scared but Holly don’t let that fear hold you back. The things that scare us the most are usually the things that make life worth living. I thought that my heart was going to beat so hard that it would break my ribs when I asked Allie to marry me but when she said yes it was worth every ounce of anxiety that weighed me down.”

“You and Allie are getting married?”

“Oh yeah that was why I called in the first place.”

Holly straightened up, “Are you serious?”

Jade clicked her tongue and Holly could imagine her friend smiling, “Yep, I got her a ring and everything. I still can’t believe that she said yes.”

“Congratulations, you will have to tell me when the wedding is so I can fly back for it.”

“Of course, I was hoping that you would be in it. Stand up with me, be my best woman of sorts.”

“Really?”

“Well yeah, you were really one of our first supporters and you are my best friend. I want you there with me.”

“I would be honored.” Holly said as more tears came but for a different reason.

“Good. Now back to your problem, I know you Holly, you let the girls come to you and that has worked up until now. If you want her you need to go after her. Take action…be bold.”

“Be bold…”

“Yes, take a chance. From everything that you have said I think that Gail just needs a little nudge.”

Holly laughed so hard she hiccupped, “You don’t know Gail she might need a nudge with a bulldozer.”

“Well I hear that you can rent those. Seriously Holls you will drive yourself crazy with the what ifs and regrets.”

“I will think about it.”

“Good; I have to go now it is getting late but I will call you next week and I want to hear that you done more than think about it.”

“Bye Jade, send my love to Allie.”

“I will. I love you Holls and I am here for you no matter what. You need me you call me.”

“Okay.”

“Bye.”

Holly sat on the floor holding her phone on her lap and she realized that she had been gone for a while and wondered if Gail had missed her and was looking for her. She got up onto her feet and almost fell back down the four double shots had definitely taken its toll on her.  Holly managed to stay upright and left the coat room to see Gail talking to a group of fairly drunk looking women. Gail was right that she could attract a flock of naïve young things to her like moths to a flame. It didn’t look as if Gail had even noticed that she had been gone.

She made her way back to the bar and found the bartender waiting for her with a drink already poured.

“It looks like your friend is attracting quite a bit of attention.” The bartender commented as Holly stared at her drink.

“She does that.” Holly said her eyes focused on the honey color of the liquor that swirled in her glass.

“I wouldn’t worry about that too much, she only has eyes for you.”

That statement snapped Holly from her melancholia and she jerked her head up to stare at the woman. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean exactly that, ever since the two of you came in tonight she has not been able to look away. Even now she is trying to be subtle but she is following your every move. You should have seen the panic on her face when you disappeared.”

“Oh…well she is nervous about being here…that is probably it.” Holly said as she tried to process this news. Had Gail been watching her?

The bartender scoffed, “Trust me I have worked here for a few years now and I know when there is a connection between people.”

“She is straight.”

The woman laughed as she opened a beer for a customer and rested her elbows on the bar in front of Holly, “Are you sure? Because straight girls don’t eye fuck their friends when said friend isn’t looking. I am Brandi by the way…I know…I know Brandi the bartender but I am a month away from finishing my doctorate dissertation in psychology so I will be Dr. Brandi soon.”

“Holly.”

Brandi smiled and offered her hand for Holly to shake, which she did, “Nice to meet you Holly. Now back to your friend…”

“Gail.”

“Okay so Gail…Look Holly I see a lot of people come through here and I have gotten pretty good about reading people. For instance the couple at the table over there…the girl with the striped shirt and the girl wearing the “Whip It” tee shirt; they are breaking up. Probably not tonight but soon.”

Holly looked at the couple in question and didn’t see anything but two girls watching the dance floor. “How could you know that?”

Brandi smiled softly, “Look at their body language, stripe shirt is turned away from her girlfriend and is more interested in her phone than with the person across from her and the girlfriend is watching the woman wearing the metallic tank top. There hasn’t been a moment between them tonight were they have even acknowledged that the other one even existed.”

Holly could see the distance between them now and nodded, “Alright I will give you that one.”

“How about those sorority girls that are by the stage…see them?”

Holly craned her neck to see where Brandi was directing her and then she saw a group of giggling girls that were sipping some fruity umbrella drinks. “Yeah so?”

“I can guarantee that they came here tonight because the tall blonde one said that it would be cool to come to a gay bar and they all agreed because being open minded and for equal rights is the trendy thing to do now. But the one in the red boots and the girl touching her shoulder are “experimenting” with each other. You can tell by the way they keep finding excuses to touch one another. See it is subtle but it is there, an “accidental” shoulder graze here and there and the way they stand so close that their fingers brush together.”

Holly turned on her stool to seek out Gail in the crowd and spotted her dancing somewhat awkwardly. “How do you read Gail?”

“Gail comes off as confident but it is a front, a mask. She wants you and everyone around to see her as this strong infallible person and for the most part she succeeds except when you are around. You are her kryptonite. I don’t think she realizes how her body both relaxes and tenses when you are near. She may have been straight before meeting you and she may be in denial about how she feels about you but the feelings are there and I would bet you a week’s worth of tips that if I were to touch your arm or kiss your cheek right now she would be here in less than five seconds.” Brandi said as she wiped the bar down with a towel.

Holly shook her head and finished her drink. Hearing all of this was making her head spin, maybe the alcohol played a part in that but could Gail actually have feelings for her beyond that of protective friend?  Her heart beat a little faster and she couldn’t help the smile that threatened, it sounded a little too good to be true. She was brought out of her thoughts by Brandi placing an orange colored drink in front of her. She was about to ask what it was she felt the bartender’s lips on her own. It lasted a split second but even in that short amount of time it didn’t elicit the same tingles that the kisses the she had shared with a certain blonde.

“Five…four…three…two… and look who is here. Brandi whispered into Holly’s ear before taking a step back.

Holly was a bit dazed as she turned to see Gail rushing up to her. Gail had an odd look on her face that Holly had never seen before. Gail glared at Brandi before grabbing Holly by her forearms and turning Holly to face her.

“Save me!” she hissed.

Amused Holly lowered her glasses and gave her a pointed look, “Save you?”

“I thought you said that they wouldn’t bite!”

Holly laughed, “Someone bit you?”

Gail fidgeted and smoothed her shirt, “She didn’t bite me but the one wearing the leopard print shirt licked my neck and pinched my butt.”

“I see…” Holly laughed as she looked at the woman in question who in turn waved at Gail.

Gail glared, “It isn’t funny.”

Holly waved back and the woman approached them, “It kind of is.” Holly whispered loudly into Gail’s ear.

Gail’s “new friend” smiled, “You disappeared on me blondie. One minute we are dancing and then…poof! Gone.” She said and then turned to face Holly, “Hi I am Missy and you are?”

Holly went to answer but Gail was faster, “This is Holly…my girlfriend.”

Her face felt as if it were on fire and Holly could her Brandi laugh. If the shock of hearing Gail call her that wasn’t enough she felt Gail’s hand grab her own. “Going on two months now; isn’t that right babe?”

Holly nodded but then decided that if Gail wanted to play this game she could play it better. Holly wrapped her arm around Gail’s middle and pulled her onto Holly’s lap. “That is right _babe_.” She kissed the spot where Gail’s neck met her shoulder. She could feel Gail squirm as her lips teased the sensitive skin and maybe her ears were playing tricks on her but she could swear that Gail moaned.  She couldn’t help herself as she continued to tease the flustered blonde, “I think we should take off soon, I can’t wait to take you to bed and in the morning… I am making waffles.”

Missy’s smile faltered and she started to back away, “Oh nice to meet you…I think my friends are looking for me.” When she was gone Holly released Gail and picked up her drink but before she could take a sip Gail grabbed it out of her hands and drank it down in a single gulp.

“Damn! What was that?”

“That was a Screaming Orgasm. It is my specialty…I made it just for Holly but I can make her another one. In fact I could make her several when my shift ends if she wants.” Brandi said suggestively as she leaned over the bar. Holly visibly gulped and couldn’t make her mouth form words to save her life and Gail looked as if daggers were going to fly out of her eyes.  “I need to get back to work but here is my number Holly if you want to meet up later for that drink.” She said as she pressed a napkin with something written on it into Holly’s hand.

As soon as Brandi left Gail muttered, “There goes her tip. Some nerve on that one…like you would go for some bartender.”

“She is a month away from getting her doctorate in psychology.” Holly said automatically, she didn’t know why she was defending the bartender but it was fun to rile up Gail.

“Oh…but still she just heard me call you my girlfriend, kind of a cheap move on her part.” Gail argued.

“What was that anyway Gail?”

“What?” Gail said looking away.

“Uh uh, don’t play innocent.”

Gail shrugged and blushed a little, “It is something that the guys and I do when there is unwanted company around. By the way you really played the part, so much better than Dov or Chris. I particularly liked the bit about waffles.” Gail’s face then fell, “Oh shit! I totally blew it didn’t I?”

Holly wasn’t sure what Gail meant by that comment and shook her head, “Blew what?”

“Here I am trying to get you a girl and then I go and announce to the entire room that you are my girlfriend.”

She had to laugh, “Yeah you kind of poisoned the well here, the only women that are going to be interested now are either into cheaters or looking to be part of a threesome.”

“Sorry.”

Gail actually did look sorry and it made Holly smile as she said, “It is okay but can we go now?”

“Yeah, let me pay the bar bill, why don’t you grab our coats.”

“Sure.” she walked towards the coat check room and glanced over her shoulder to see Gail have a few words with Brandi before paying. Holly could practically see the waves of hate waft off of Gail as she accepted her change from the bartender. Holly was still holding on to the folded napkin that Brandi had given her, she unfolded it and read: _“Good luck Holly, if you ever want to talk here is my number. You owe me a big tip.”_

“I thought you were getting our coats?” Gail asked as she walked towards her.

“Oh yeah, I guess I got a little distracted.” She said as she refolded the note and noticed Gail’s eyes narrow and a frown form as the she saw the note.

Instead of hopping over the counter Holly as she had done before she used the door and Gail followed her into the small room. Coats had been thrown haphazardly since Holly had last been in there and she sat on the floor to sort through them trying to find theirs. Gail joined her and sat quietly for a minute or so before tapping out a nervous pattern on her leg. “I wasn’t a very good wingwoman tonight.”

Holly didn’t know how to answer but Gail continued, “I am usually really good at this sort of thing. I am lousy at romance when it comes to my own but I have always been good at finding it for Dov and Chris but tonight…I sucked.”

“It was fine Gail really…”

“No. No it isn’t fine Holly. You are this incredible woman, so freaking smart that it scares me sometimes and funny even when you are not trying to be. And beautiful…inside and out…so beautiful and there was no one here that deserved you. I must have talked to two dozen women tonight and not one was good enough for you.”

Holly had never had anyone talk about her in that way and for a second all thoughts of went out of her head. There were no worries about Gail being straight or of losing her, no the only thought that was coursing through her wasn’t so much a thought but a need…a need to kiss Gail, a real kiss; not a peck on the lips but an emotion fueled kiss. She was leaning in when a coat smacked her in her face and Gail laughed. And with that the moment was ruined. Holly shook her head in frustration and Gail held up their coats. “Come on nerd let’s get out of here.”

They left the club and saw a taxi pulling up and they waited for the occupants to leave before they got in. “Catnip Club.” Gail said as she sat down.

“Huh?”

“The name of the club, I hadn’t noticed it before, kind of a stupid name…oh… of I get it. Cats…catnip…pussy cats…pussy…”

Holly shook her head, “Gail stop…just stop.”

The driver cleared his throat, “Where to?”

Once again Gail answered before Holly could and gave the driver Holly’s address.

Holly must have looked confused because Gail smirked, “You promised me waffles.”

“You are insane.”

“I might be.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Did it live up to your expectations? Please drop me a review and let me know what you think.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clubbing aftermath

Gail’s pov

The ride back to Holly’s was quiet in part because Gail was sure that if she opened her mouth something stupid sounding would escape. This night had not gone as planned, tonight was about quieting the voices in her head that hinted and whispered that Holly was different…special. Holly had been right before, tonight was a disaster. She spent all night talking up Holly to strangers and all it did was convince herself that what she felt for the med student had evolved from lab partners and was more than simple friends.

Holly certainly wasn’t helping matters either, the kiss on her neck, the touching…it was all too much. And don’t get her started on Dr. Brandi! The nerve of the woman, obviously the bartender didn’t know how to be subtle, she practically threw herself at Holly. Holly wouldn’t go for a girl like that. Okay she was pretty, if you liked perfect skin, toned muscles and brilliant smile sort of girl but Holly wasn’t all about looks… right? Okay the beer slinger was going to be a doctor maybe they had a lot in common…damn it she screwed up again. “Holly I think I might have done something bad.” Gail said looking down at her lap.

“What did you do now?” Holly asked sounding a bit exasperated.

Gail tapped her legs, “When I paid the bar tab I sort of…kind of…threatened the bartender.” She said so quietly that Holly might not have heard her.

“You what!?” Holly said loudly.

Gail grimaced at the volume of Holly’s anger. “I told her to keep her screaming orgasms to herself and that you wouldn’t be calling. I know that I had no right and now that I think about it she was probably the best woman in the place for you and I screwed it up. I will fix it. I will…I promise…we can turn around and go back right now.”

Holly looked like she wanted to laugh and that confused Gail. Holly rubbed her temple and patted Gail’s leg with her free hand. “It is fine Gail, I wasn’t interested in Brandi. I had a nice time talking to her but that is all. I don’t want to go back I just want to go home.”

Gail suddenly felt a lot better, Holly didn’t want to be with Dr. Bartender. “Okay.”

The taxi pulled up to Holly’s building and Holly went to pay the driver, “Are you sure that you don’t want to go home? It is starting to snow again.”

Gail shook her head, “I am sure, home is the last place I want to be tonight.”

Holly nodded and paid the driver and they started to walk across the crunchy snow towards the front door. Between the slick surface and the amount of alcohol in their systems it was amazing that neither of them fell on their backsides. After a few near misses Holly grabbed Gail’s hand to steady herself. It didn’t escape Gail how perfect their hands fit together as their fingers intertwined. She pushed the thought back as they made it inside and started up the stairs. “Why can’t you live in a building with an elevator? Normal people have elevators.” Gail huffed as they rounded the second landing, she let go of Holly’s hand to grasp the railing.

“I will keep that in mind the next time I move. Why don’t you want to go home?” Holly asked as she paused a few steps ahead of Gail.

“You remember that sophomore girl that Dov meet a few weeks ago?”

Holly started moving again, “Sure you called her a Disney princess, Chloe something.”

“Right, well she is more like a Disney bitch.”

“I don’t think Disney has bitches, they have witches.”

“Fine she is a Disney witch, a married Disney witch.”

“What? Did Dov know?” Holly said clearly surprised.

“Not a clue, he went over to her dorm this morning to check on her, her phone wasn’t working. When he knocked on her door her husband answered.” Gail seethed.

“Wow… what did Dov do?”

“What could he do? He left and she called him later. She made all kinds of excuses like how they married right out of high school and he goes to college across the county and that she sometimes forgets that she is married since they don’t see each other often.” Gail clenched her fists as they finally made it to Holly’s floor.

“I still don’t see why you don’t want to go home.”

Gail rubbed the back of her neck, “I might have told Dov that she was a bitch and that he deserved better…and that he would be a fucking moron if he went back to her.”

Holly unlocked the door and let Gail in first, “I see…do you think that he would stay with her knowing that she is married?”

“No. He wouldn’t do that but he wants to give her the benefit of doubt and he is way too willing to see the good in people.”

“Well you can stay here until things smooth over at the frat house.”

Gail yawned but then smirked, “Thanks. Now you said something back at the bar about bed and waffles?”

Holly held up a finger to stop her, “I only said that to save you from the _scary lesbian_. But we can have waffles in the morning I am too tired now.”

“Tease.”

Holly walked over to the bed and laid down, “Fine Gail, have your way with me but I am just warning you that I am this close to passing out.”

Gail walked over to the bed and leaned over the smiling med student, “And you call me insane.”

“I am not insane…I am drunk…there is a difference. In the morning I will be hung over but sane…you however…” Holly smiled that charming crooked smile of hers as she sat up and pulled her boots off.

Gail just shook her head and started to unbutton her shirt and tossed it aside. She started to undo her pants when she heard Holly clear her throat and found the dark haired woman staring. “See something you like nerd?”

Holly simply turned to face away as she undressed as well. Gail was tempted to peek but she was currently having difficult pulling the too tight jeans down her legs. She almost fell to the floor trying to get them past her knees. “Let me help you.” She looked up to see Holly clad in only a black bra and matching boy shorts in front of her. Holly pushed Gail onto the bed and proceeded to pull her boots off. “It is a lot easier when you take your shoes off first.” She smirked as she yanked the jeans off and away.

It must have hit both woman at the same time that they were only in their underwear and that Holly was straddling Gail’s legs. After what Gail could only describe as a heated moment Holly moved away and went to her dresser. “Want something to sleep in?”

Gail found herself shaking her head no, “I feel a bit warm.”

Holly chewed her lower lip and slipped on a large tee-shirt and pulled her bra out through the sleeve as she went back to the bed and turned out the light. “I just don’t want you to get cold.”

“If I do, I will seek out heat.” Gail teased as she climbed under the covers knowing that Holly was blushing. Gail closed her eyes and thought about how maybe not all of tonight was a disaster.

Holly’s pov

As tired as she was sleep was not coming, not when Gail was inches away wearing next to nothing. Holly resisted turning to face the blonde beauty and stared at the ceiling instead. Everything that had happened since meeting Gail raced through her mind as the sounds of Gail’s breathing added a soundtrack to the images. Falling for her had been effortless, Holly could see now that she hadn’t stood a chance against the blonde. For as hard as she tried to maintain emotional distance Gail pulled her back in to her orbit.  Holly wished that she could pinpoint what it was that Gail had over her but she was at a loss. She couldn’t remember where she had heard it or read it but the phrase ‘she is what words miss’ fit Gail flawlessly.

Holly was brought back to the reality of Gail slumbering next to her when the blondes breathing became ragged and shallow and she felt the blonde reach for her. “She must be having a nightmare.” Holly thought as Gail turned and positioned herself against Holly’s side. Not knowing what to do Holly wrapped her arms around the woman and held her as the blonde threw her leg over Holly’s and draped herself over the med student. She wasn’t expecting that and she certainly wasn’t expecting what happened next. Gail clung to Holly, her hands fisting the thin material of the tee-shirt, pulling it up exposing Holly’s taunt stomach. Holly marveled at the contrasting skin colors, Gail’s flawless alabaster white against her darker olive.  Her train of thought was derailed by Gail grinding down onto her leg and the soft moans that escaped the blonde’s slightly open mouth. Holly had never been witness to something as arousing as the sight of Gail atop her riding her leg, her bra clad breasts rising and falling with every thrust. All Holly wanted to do was touch her, to let her fingers absorb the heat of Gail’s bare skin, to kiss her neck and suck on her pulse point that was beating faster as Gail picked up her pace.

But Holly held back, this was a private moment for Gail and as much as she wanted to help the blonde reach her peak it would be a violation to do so. This had to be the sweetest torture that she had ever endured, to watch the woman that she wanted most take pleasure from her body and not be able to touch her back. Holly lay there as Gail’s hands let go of her shirt, one found its way under the shirt and captured her bare breast, and Holly bit her lower lip to keep from moaning…it felt so good…so right to feel those fingers kneed the sensitive flesh. Holly was almost too caught up in that sensation to notice that Gail’s other hand had found its way to the inside of Holly’s thigh. She was rubbing small circles near the now soaked boy shorts.

Holly was so lost in her euphoria that she almost didn’t hear Gail moan into her neck, “I want this…I want this…you…I want you.” She whispered as her lips found the hollow of Holly’s throat. It was all too much for her as Gail drenched thighs clenched around her leg before Gail stiffened and groaned a series of nonsense words into her neck before going still and back to a peaceful sleep.  Holly’s heart pounded as she tried to calm herself down, she looked down at the now tranquil blonde, there was a sheen of sweat on her brow and her breathing had returned to normal. More than ever Holly wished she knew what was going on in Gail’s head.

Gail’s pov

There was a pounding in her head that sounded like the drum solo of the song “Wipeout” but other than that Gail felt great. She wanted to hold onto the feeling, it wasn’t often that she felt such ease. She took her time opening her eyes but when she did she found herself on top of Holly, her head sharing the other woman’s pillow, one of her hands had found its way under Holly’s shirt and was resting on her breast, the other gripping her hip. It should have been an uncomfortable situation but somehow it wasn’t; it felt right. Just as the morning before it felt natural to be hold her. But Holly wasn’t hers to hold so she tried to gently extricate herself from the sleeping beauty. She really was beautiful Gail thought as she propped herself up on her elbow and watched Holly slumber. There was a lopsided smile on her lips, lips that Gail knew were so soft and all she wanted was so touch them.

Gail shifted onto her back and that was when she noticed how her panties clung to her and then her dream came back to her:

The classroom was dimly lit, she could make out the shadows of the lab tables and stools. Her senses felt heightened in the dark, she knew that someone was with her but she didn’t know where. Suddenly she was pushed against a table, her legs spread as the figure held her. The air was electric as Gail reached backwards for her captor, enough was enough. “I am ready.” She said as the familiar stranger traced patterns down her sides.

“Are you?” the voice asked kissing her neck.

Gail nodded as the stranger pressed against her and Gail couldn’t help but to push back. “I want this.”

The dark figure molded its body against hers and for the first time she could feel the captor, the curve of its hips, the slender thigh pressing against her core and breasts pushed against your back. Wait a minute…breasts? Her captor was a woman? Gail didn’t have time to further ponder that thought as the woman gripped her waist as her fingers teased the waistband of Gail’s jeans.  “Are you sure that you want this?” the voice whispered into her ear. The voice was becoming more familiar as Gail nodded. “I need to hear you say it.” The woman said as one hand popped the button of her jeans while the other pulled down the zipper.

Gail sighed as she threw her head back onto the woman’s shoulder, “I want this….I want this…you…I want you.”

The woman plunged her fingers into Gail’s waiting heat, “You have me.”  All Gail could do was grip the table as the woman rocked into her, she pushed back to meet each thrust. The room began to spin as Gail edged closer and closer to her release…fuck she was close…but something wasn’t right. Gail pulled away and felt the emptiness immediately but she needed to do this.

She leaned on the table for a moment, “I need to see you.” She said as she gathered the courage to turn. Gail had never felt such nervousness before it was all consuming but her desire to face the woman that had been haunting her was greater. She slowly turned found Holly grinning at her.

“Took you long enough Peck.” She smirked as she took a step towards her and gathered her into her arms. “Are you sure you want this?” Gail felt her head nod and then she felt lips on hers and the world disappeared except for her and Holly and she fell over the edge that she had been so delicately balanced on.

The dream had been so real and brought all of Gail’s emotions to the surface, she felt raw as if every nerve ending was exposed.  Gail sat up and looked down at the literal woman of her dreams. There was no denying it anymore she wanted Holly, she had feelings for Holly and it didn’t matter that she was a woman. This realization lifted a weight that Gail didn’t know that she was carrying but it left so many questions in its place. Would Holly feel the same way? Was she good enough for Holly? Could she really do this?

The questions would have to wait since Gail felt Holly wake up. There was something so cute about the way Holly wiggled her nose before opening her eyes that made Gail smile in spite of herself. “Morning…is it morning?” Holly yawned as she stretched. Her eyes caught Gail’s and she raised her eyebrow, “Were you watching me sleep?”

Gail suddenly felt very exposed, granted she was sitting there clad only in her underwear but she felt naked. “Sorta…kinda…I don’t know…”she said as she tried to pull the sheet up to cover herself.

“Okay.” Holly said slowly as she sat up. She rubbed her temples and leaned against the headboard. “No more drinking…my head feels like it is stuck in a vice grip. How are you doing?”

It was such a simple question but Gail didn’t know how to answer it; psychically she had been worse but emotionally she was a mess.  So instead of answering she got out of the bed and attempted to pull on her jeans. Unfortunately luck was not with her, the combination of her hung over state and the tightness of the jeans made it impossible to put them on and she took a tumble to the floor.

Holly rolled off the bed to her side, “Gail are you alright?”

More embarrassed than hurt Gail waved her off, “I am fine. Stupid pants.”

Holly shook her head as she laughed and offered Gail her hand to help her up but Gail stayed on the floor, she needed a moment. She looked up at Holly’s face, the way her hazel eyes caught the early morning light, the slightly crooked smile, the way she tilted her head to the side, she was perfect or as close to perfect as a person could be, how did Gail not see it before?

“So waffles?”

Gail shook her head there were to many thoughts running rampant in her head to understand what Holly was trying to say.

“I promised you waffles. I plan on making good on my promise.”

Gail managed to pull up her pants and looked around the room for her shirt but she couldn’t find it. She stood as Holly started towards the kitchen area, “Coffee?” Holly asked and Gail nodded as she continued her search for her missing shirt.

“Gail are you alright? You don’t seem like yourself.” Holly asked gently as she opened the cupboard and pulled out waffle mix.

“I am fine.” Gail managed to say as she watched Holly’s shirt rise and expose the black boy shorts and a sliver of midriff. Images of her dream floated to the surface of her conscious and Gail gripped the counter to keep her knees from buckling.

“It this about last night?” Holly asked with a blush spreading across her face.

Oh god! What had she done last night? Gail thought as her face burned red and as much as she didn’t want to know she knew that she needed to. “What happened last night?”

This time it was Holly that had trouble with her words, “Uh…you kind of…sort of…got off on me...”she trailed off looking at her feet.

“I WHAT?” Gail practically yelled as her already nervous stomach went straight to her throat.

“It wasn’t a big deal…dreams happen…you couldn’t help it…” Holly offered, panic in her eyes. “Really Gail it is okay.”

“How is it okay Holly? I took advantage of you! The one person in my life that… I forced myself on you…” Gail started to pace.

Holly walked around the kitchen island to block her path and grabbed her forearms. “Gail…please listen to me…you didn’t do anything wrong…do you understand me? You did nothing wrong.”

Gail nodded but said nothing. She heard Holly take a deep breath as she let go of Gail and take a step back. “Now is as good of time as any.” Holly said mostly to herself. “Gail look at me.” And she looked up and found the usually confident med student wringing her hands. “I don’t know where to start…Gail I moved here because I was running away. I wasn’t looking for someone but I found you…you can be sarcastic and annoying and I find myself loving every minute of it. From the moment we met I have been drawn to you, I told myself that it was a crush…a harmless crush.  I needed the feelings to go away because I can’t bear the thought of losing you but they only grew and it hurts not to tell you…so I am telling you. Gail I have feelings for you…real honest to god feelings…I have never felt this way before and I know that I am probably freaking you out so I am giving you an out. I am going to count to five and then I am going to kiss you because I need to but if you walk away…” her voice cracked, “If you walk away we can forget this conversation every happened and we go back to the way we were.”

Gail could see such a mix of emotion in Holly’s eyes, there was pain and sadness but there was also hope swirled in there, she watch Holly take a step. “Five…you can walk away…four…or you could take a chance on me…three…I won’t hurt you…two…”

With a surge of what Gail could only describe as a fifty/fifty mix of confidence and sheer fear she took a step in Holly’s direction and grabbed her tee shirt with both hands and pulled the stunned woman towards her and kissed her. It took a moment for Holly to react but only a moment before she had one hand in Gail’s messed up bedhead hair and the other on her neck. It wasn’t a gentle kiss, it was a clash of teeth and lips but when Gail gasped at Holly pulling her hair the med student slipped her tongue into her open mouth and what started as a savage kiss quickly turned passionate. Gail could feel her heart beat faster and harder as Holly pulled her closer, she could feel the heat of the other woman radiate off of her. One of Holly’s hands drifted down to her side and rested on her breast and the new sensation snapped her from the blissful haze that clouded her mind. It was too much too fast she told herself. She pulled away and grabbed a jacket that hung by the door and ran out the door barefoot leaving Holly gasping for air.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gail needs a little help from her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N So many things that I want to say so I will get right to it. Another reason for my disappearance was that I went on vacation and it was incredible (after meeting Tegan and Sara on a cruise ship I can die happy now) however I ended up getting what I am calling the plague on my way home from the cruise and haven’t been up to writing. Enough with my lame excuses here is the new chapter as always I own nothing related to Rookie Blue or its characters.

 

Gail’s pov

She flew down the stairs, her heart beating out of her chest as tears clouded her vision. All she could think about was the fact that she had just left Holly standing there…oh god she kissed Holly and then ran…she ran. How did all of this happen? Gail paused on the bottom step and listened, she heard no sound of footsteps following her, Holly wasn’t coming after her…she slunk down and sat on the step as she pulled the jacket on covering her shivering almost bare torso.

Gail wanted to run right back up the stairs; back to Holly but what could she say? How she explain her behavior when she didn’t understand it herself? No, she needed to go home and sort herself out. Unfortunately home was a few miles away and it was snowing…oh and she was barefoot. She dug around in her pocket and found her phone but low and behold the battery was dead! Luck was not with her today. Gail did find a few coins in her pocket and the pay phone in Holly’s lobby worked. As she dialed Chris’s number she licked her lips, there was the faintest taste of honey on them; Holly tasted like honey.

“Chris’s phone.” A very not Chris voice answered.

“Dov?”

“Gail?”

“Yeah, what are you doing with Chris’s phone?” Gail heard a door slam from up the stairwell and even though it was not likely to be Holly, it was a big building after all, she wasn’t wanting people to see her like this.  “Never mind, can you come get me? 85 Dawson Ave across from the gross vegan grocery.”

Dov was quiet for a moment, “Gail are you okay?”

“I’m fine!  I am fine I just need a ride now are you coming or do I need to call McNally?” Gail said getting more and more exasperated.

“Okay I am on my way. You must be desperate if you are willing to ride willingly in the Andi-cab.”

Gail could feel her head start to pound in aggravation, “Epstein just hurry." She hung up and sighed as she walked towards the door so she could watch for Dov. Home…things would feel clearer at home.

Dov must have broken several traffic laws as he pulled in front of the building minutes later. She ran out to jump in the waiting car, swearing each time her bare feet touched the icy, crunchy ground.  Gail said nothing as she buckled up and stared forward. Thankfully Dov took the hint and started for home.  Unfortunately Dov has never been good with awkward silences. “So that was Holly’s place? Looks nice…I mean the outside looks nice…friendly…”

“Dov I don’t want to talk about it so will you for the love of all cheese puffs please shut it?”

He nodded and focused on the road ahead of him. “I never wanted to be this guy.” He wasn’t looking at her and he said it so quietly that Gail wasn’t sure if she was supposed to hear it. “I thought she could be my one…I wanted her to be anyway…but she already has her one. I hate this…I never wanted to be like him and here I am…”

“Who?” Gail asked as she watched Dov’s knuckles turn white against the steering wheel.

Through gritted teeth he muttered, “My dad.”

“Oh…” Gail had only met Dov’s father a few times over the years. Dov didn’t really like to talk about him, not since he left his mom for another woman. “You are not like him.”

“No? I slept with a married woman. I was involved with another man’s wife…”

“Dov you didn’t know. You didn’t know and you…you are a better man than your dad. He hurt you and your mom, he was a scared little man that couldn’t deal when things got tough. You stayed, you took care of your mom. The only thing that you did wrong here was put your trust into a person that didn’t deserve it. Chloe was in the wrong not you.” They had pulled up to their building and Dov turned off the ignition but made no move to leave.

“Gail…thanks.” He said as he faced her and he took in her appearance, “Gail where are your shoes?”

Gail shook her head, “Not now. Can you grab my boots for me?”

Dov got that stupid crazy smirk on his face that Gail knew spelled trouble. He jumped out of the car and ran around to Gail’s side and jerked the door open. “I will do you one better.” He said as he grabbed Gail and threw her awkwardly over his shoulder.

“You had better not drop me Epstein!”

“I will if you keep fidgeting!” he teased as he carried her the short distance to their entry. “Damn Gail you need to lay off of the double bacon cheeseburgers.” Dov joked.

 She punched his shoulder, “Are you implying something about my weight stick boy? Maybe if you went to the gym more often instead of getting your ass kicked on Call of Duty you would be able to lift something more substantial than a game controller.”

He set her down and her jacket rode up exposing her bare back, this caused him to raise his eyebrows but he said nothing and raised his hands in surrender before hitting the elevator call button. The ride up was quiet but Gail knew that he was dying to ask about the reason for the frantic call and her state of undress.

As soon as the elevator doors opened Gail darted for their apartment and for the sanctuary of her room. She tried to close the door but for some reason the door had swollen and would close all of the way. Gail found her ridiculously thick red fuzzy socks and pulled them on, her toes had started to lose feeling from the cold. She also found Steve’s old academy sweat shirt that she had stolen from him a few years before. She was beginning to feel warmer but the warmth did nothing to calm her nerves or make her feel better. She wished that she could say that this Holly ‘thing’ as she referred to it in her head was simply a fleeting feeling but she knew better. Gail wasn’t sure when things had shifted for her when it came to the line of friends and more than friends with Holly but that wasn’t important, what was important was that it had.

Gail groaned in frustration and flopped back onto her bed and grabbed her pillow and pulled it tight to her. She squirmed on the bed trying to find a comfortable spot but all she could think about was how Holly’s bed had been perfect. Not too soft or too hard…or maybe it had been Holly that made it just right. Great now she sounded like Goldilocks…

But that was the problem, everything about Holly fit with Gail, the way she traded barbs with her, her competitiveness, there was something about the way the other woman made her feel…it was hard to put to words but it felt natural. Now the question was what was she going to do? Holly had laid it all on the line for her, Holly had feelings for her…she liked her. This thought warmed her more than her fuzzy socks ever could. But the fact remained that Gail had no clue of what to do, to say that this was unknown territory was an understatement to say the least. The fact that Holly was of the female persuasion didn’t play into it the way that Gail though it would, sure she had never really considered dating a woman before but she had never met anyone like Holly before either. No what bothered her was that this was the first time Gail really had something to lose if she screwed this up. She couldn’t lose Holly. Her thought were interrupted by Chris sticking his head into her room. “I bought the new expansion pack for the game…want to play?”

Anything that could take her mind away from her complicated life sounded good so Gail got to her feet and followed Christ to the couch. After an hour of destroying encampments and listening to the boys whine about her cheating, Chris and Dov shared a look and Dov paused the game. Gail turned to them, “Hey! Just because I was about to blow you up doesn’t mean you can…”

 “We need to talk…” Dov started.

Gail groaned and dropped her head back to the couch this wasn’t the first roommate meeting that started with those words, usually what followed were things like ‘Gail you can’t make casserole out of cheese puffs and spray cheese’. “This should be good. Let me guess…I used up all of the toothpaste…or did forget to put my tampons in the drawer? I know they weird you out but seriously guys…”

Chris held up his hand for her to stop talking, “That isn’t what we wanted to talk to you about but since you brought it up the girl cork things…”

“Dude! Now is not the time!” Dov chastised as he shook his head. He turned to face Gail on the couch, “I don’t really know where to start…”

“Are you and Holly a thing? Like dating or something?” Chris blurted out earning a glare from both Dov and Gail.

“Seriously?! We talked about this Chris, we weren’t going to pressure her.” Dov scolded while Gail tried to wrap her head how the boys knew and what she was going to say. But regardless she was going to stop calling whatever was going on with Holly a ‘thing’ it sounded stupid when Chris said it.

“I am sorry but something is going on.” Chris said as he got off of the couch and knelt in front of her. “Now please don’t kick my balls into my throat but hear me out. Ever since classes started back up again you have been different…happier and I…we think the reason is Holly. I get that this is none of our business, who you date or see or whatever is your choice but we want you to know that if Holly is the one making you smile or the reason that you haven’t threatened to castrate us in the last few weeks we one hundred percent support you.”

“We like Holly.” Dov said simply.

Gail’s first instinct was to kick Chris or at the very least push him over while she made her escape but her body remained on the couch taking in what they had just said. “You don’t think that it is weird?” she asked.

“Weird that you like Holly or that you haven’t threatened us?” Dov smirked.

“Quit being a smartass I am trying to be serious. Is it weird because before now I have never had any interest in girls?” Gail glared.

“Sorry. No I don’t think it is that weird, we don’t choose who we care for.” Dov said sincerely.

Chris nodded, “I have never felt attracted to guys but I would like to think that I am open minded enough to try if it happened.”

Gail laughed lightly, “Well you do love those skin tight white pants.”

Dov smiled as he nodded, “If we had taken bets I would have guessed Chris gay before Gail.”

“Funny I would have pegged the two of you for a gay couple before me and Holly.” Gail quipped before she realized what she said.

The boys gave her a minute before Chris spoke, “So you are with Holly?”

Gail rubbed at her temple, how to answer this? “No…I think I blew it.”

Both boys looked like someone kicked their puppy. “What happened? Maybe you can fix it…we could help?” Chris offered and Dov nodded eagerly.

Gail had to laugh at how determined they were that she be with Holly. “What happened was that up until this morning I wasn’t aware at least not consciously aware that that there was a ‘me and Holly’. I guess I have known for a while now that I had more than friendly feelings for her but I never thought to act on them until this morning.”

“What happened this morning?” Dov asked.

She decided to leave out the whole interactive wet dream that played out on Holly, they didn’t need to know about that part. “We went out to a club last night…a lesbian club so that I could play wingwoman for her.”

“Fifty bucks says that Gail failed miserably.” Chris bet Dov.

“I am right here moron and I am an awesome wingwoman.” Gail defended herself.

Both Dov and Chris earnestly shook their heads as they shared a look deciding who was going to speak. Dov absently moved a pillow to cover his lower region. “Gail you are awesome at a lot of things: Call of Duty, playing flip cup, reciting the entire collection of laws and penalties for each province and territory in four languages but you are a god awful wingwoman. You scare everyone away.”

This came as a surprise to her, not about the stuff that she excelled in she knew about those things but this other thing… “Relax Epstein I am not going to hit you. But yeah last night was less than stellar.”

“Who cares about last night, what happened this morning?” Chris asked with an out of character impatience.

“Whoa who is telling this story Boyscout?” When Chris looked properly reprimanded she continued, “This morning I started to put together that I had feelings for her and she sensed that something was off with me and she…she told me that she liked me and that she was going to kiss me.”

“Wow.” Both boys said in unison.

“She started this dorky countdown to the kiss, telling me that she wouldn’t hurt me and that it was alright to not feel the same and there was this look in her eyes and I couldn’t help myself I kissed her.”

“You? Kissed? Her?” Dov asked slowly as if the concept was alien.

“Yes and then I bolted, running out of her apartment half-dressed and without my shoes. And before you ask I had slept in my underwear and was in the process of getting dressed when all of this happened so get your minds out of the gutter.”

“Why did you run?” Chris asked quietly.

That was the question, wasn’t it? Gail shook her head, “I don’t really know, part panic and part self-fulfilling prophesy of screwing up the one really good thing in my life would be my best guess.”

“Do you want to be with her?” Dov asked.

Earlier she would have hesitated with her answer but after hearing that she had her boys’ support and quieting the fear in her head she didn’t need a second to say “Yes.”

Both of the guys nodded, “Well go apologize and make things right.”

“What if that isn’t enough?”

Chris shook his head, “You keep trying…she is worth it right?”

Gail nodded and stood up. “Okay I am going to do this.” she declared as she headed for the front door.

“Hey Gail you might want to put on shoes and maybe shower.” Chris suggested as he called from the couch.

“Yeah you have a dusting of cheese powder on you.” Dov added as he unpaused the game.

“I knew that.” Gail declared as she made a quick u-turn and marched towards the bathroom. Step one get clean, step two figure out what to say to Holly, step three show her that she means it. For now she would focus on the first step.

Holly’s pov

She wasn’t sure why she was sitting in a booth at this cafe but she was. Holly held her cup of tea, letting it warm her hands as she watched the steam trails drift up and away. The events of the morning had left her feeling…oh what was the word that she wanted? Confused wasn’t a strong enough adjective for what she was feeling; perplexed…stunned…baffled…puzzled…bewildered…mystifyied…confounded… None sounded right but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that she told Gail, told her that she liked her and for a moment albeit a brief moment she thought that Gail liked her back. Gail had kissed her…and then she ran like an Olympian going for the gold. She had tried calling the blonde but all calls went straight to voice mail. Holly had wanted to chase her down but she knew that she didn’t want to push her, pushing would only lead to more running. 

“Hey I hope you were not waiting long.”

Holly was snapped back to reality by the woman now sitting across from her.

“No, not long. Thank you for coming.” Holly said as she set her cup down.

“I have to admit that I was surprised that you called but here I am. You said you wanted to talk, Doctor Brandi at your service.” Brandi said without a hint of sarcasm.

“It is about…” Holly started.

“Let me guess Gail?”

Holly nodded and went back to holding her cup.

Brandi flagged down a waitress and ordered a coffee and a plate of hash browns and runny eggs. Once her order was made she turned her attention back to Holly. “Either you told her how you felt or she did. Am I right?”

“Kind of both. I think… I told her and she kissed me.”

Brandi smiled, “Progress.”

“She ran afterward.”

“Unfortunate but still progress. Holly I imagine that this is disorienting to you but put yourself in Gail’s place. Gail strikes me as someone that likes to be in control, to have order and what happened between the two of you threw her off course.” Brandi offered as her coffee arrived.

Holly shook her head and stared down at the table top. “I shouldn’t have said anything, she is straight and I pushed…”

“I am guessing that you didn’t wake up one morning and figured out that you loved women, right?” Brandi asked and Holly had to hold back laugh. “What is so funny?”

“Gail asked me once about how I knew I was a lesbian and I joked about waking up and liking boobs.” Holly explained.

“Wouldn’t her asking be a clue to you that maybe she isn’t 100% straight?”

“Gail is a very curious person.” Holly defended.

“As I was trying to say before, you don’t wake up one morning and have everything figured out. It takes time. Once upon a time you thought you were straight didn’t you?”

“I guess so but…”

“But what? Holly how much time did it take you to accept who you are? Give her at least a day.” Brandi said pointedly as her food came. She picked up her forked and stabbed the egg yolks until they ran all over the plate. “I was thirteen when I started to put the pieces together that I wasn’t like my friends who had crushes on the football players, that I was looking at the cheerleaders. But I had my aunt to talk to, it was nice having someone there to help you get through the haze. She was twenty-seven when she came out and it hadn’t been easy for her, a lot of self-doubt and frustration before she could accept it. She spent years keeping it to herself, going from one doomed relationship to another thinking that her infatuations with women would fade. She told me that she had always blamed herself for blowing up her relationships but the truth was she was never really in them the way the guys were.  She confessed to me that she had come very close to hurting herself because she was so lost. I was lucky to have her be there for me so I didn’t feel like that. I grew up in a household that loved and supported me and I have a feeling that you did too but with Gail I don’t get that vibe.”

Holly nodded as she sipped her quickly cooling coffee.

“Give her time Holly. Let her know that you are not going anywhere and let her figure things out at her pace. Trust me if she had the guts to kiss you then she will find her way back to you.” Brandi said as she finished sopping up the last bit of yolk with her hash browns.

“You are really good at this.” Holly offered as she pulled out her wallet. “You are going to be an excellent psychologist.”

Brandi blushed, “Thanks, I just want to be able to help people the way my aunt helped me.”

“How is your aunt doing now?” Holly asked as they walked up to the counter.

“Married to her partner of seven years with two bratty little boys and happy.”

Holly smiled as she paid both of their bills, “I got this.”

“Thanks.”

“Pretty cheap therapy.” Holly said with a shrug.

“Next time I bill you by the hour.” Brandi replied with a smirk.

“Deal.”

They were about to go their separate ways when Brandi grabbed Holly’s wrist, “This thing with Gail won’t be easy, even when she lets you in she will find excuses to pull back but I think that she will be worth it if you are patient.”

Holly didn’t say anything but nodded and gave Brandi a brief hug before starting back to her loft. She had a lot to think about but one thing was clear Gail was worth the wait…she just hoped that she wouldn’t have to wait long.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N (Insert evil laughter!) Cliffhanger…I think my cold meds make me mean. I will do everything in my power to not make you wait too long for the next chapter but life has a way of throwing me off course lately and so no promises. I love all of your reviews, please keep them coming.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited talk

Holly’s pov

After wandering around for a few hours after leaving Brandi, Holly decided that it was time to call it a night. It had started to snow again but this time it was a heavy wet snow that was chilling her right down to the bone. Her coat was heavy from the dampness and the last thing she needed was to get sick. Holly sighed as she checked her phone for the…well she had lost count of how many times she had checked the silent electronic device, Gail hadn’t responded to any of her texts or calls. For a day that seemed to have started out with such promise it had turned into a day that she wished that she could put behind her and right now burrowing under her blanket and going to bed sounded like a good idea. She trudged up her stairwell, the multiple flights of stairs never bothered her before but right now she just wanted to get home. Holly fought the urge to try and call Gail again, she knew that she needed to give her space but she just really wanted to hear her voice and know that she was alright; she had run out of the loft without shoes or a shirt on, not exactly the best wardrobe for winter.

Brandi had given her a lot to think about. And the truth was she had put Gail on the spot with telling her about her actions the night before and dumping her feelings for her on top of that. If their positions had been reversed Holly would have been tempted to run as well. No, she would give Gail some time and she would see her in class on Monday. It went against every desire she had to reach out but this was about Gail’s wellbeing not hers.

Holly rounded the last landing and walked down her hallway, she searched her pocket for her keys and was surprised to see a hooded figure sitting hunched over, her head resting on her knees, in front of her door.

“Gail?”

Gail’s pov

At hearing Holly’s voice Gail scrambled to her feet but from sitting in the awkward position her lower body had fallen asleep and her numb feet wouldn’t support her and she crumbled back to the floor. Red with embarrassment she sighed and gave Holly a halfhearted wave from her seated position.

“Hey.”

Holly leaned against her door jam with a concerned look. “Hey.”

Gail tried once more to stand and finally succeeded, she rubbed her legs for a moment before standing completely upright. “Hey…I said that already didn’t I?”

Holly smiled her patented half smile, “It did sound familiar.”

Gail breathed a sigh of relief, Holly didn’t seem mad and she took that as an excellent sign. “Can we talk?” she asked quietly as she scuffed the toe of her sneaker on the red carpet of the hallway.

Holly nodded eagerly, “Yeah…I mean yes…I want to uh…if you want talk um…sure we can talk.”

Gail smiled at Holly’s ramblings and she had the urge to calm her down so she took her hand and simply held it. As soon as she gripped Holly’s hand she could see Holly visibly relax. “Inside?” Gail asked gesturing with her head towards the unopened door. “Your neighbors are this close to calling the police on me.” She said in a lower voice, “They think that I am stalking you.” Holly tried to cover a laugh with her free hand and rolled her eyes as she unlocked the door and Gail let go of her hand to enter.   

“Have you been waiting long?” Holly asked as she opened the door and Gail shrugged, it had been a couple of hours but she would had waited days, not that she was ready to tell Holly that. As soon as they were through the door Gail’s heart started beating faster, she hadn’t completely worked out what she wanted to say to Holly but she knew that it started with an apology, now if only she could find the right words. She watched Holly struggle to pull damp jacket off and wondered how long Holly had been out in the bad weather. “I’m going to change into some dry clothes, make yourself comfortable.” Holly said softly as she headed towards the bedroom area. Gail walked over to the couch but remained standing as her eyes followed Holly. Gail watched wordlessly as Holly pulled off her sweater and slipped on an oversized hoodie over her skintight thermal shirt, she turned away when Holly started to work her belt loose.

After what felt like a short forever she saw Holly make her way back to the living room area wearing fleece sweat pants and the loose fitting hoodie. Gail walked to the couch and sat on one end and waited for Holly to sit on the other end before she started. “I don’t do this very often…”

“What sit? You seem like a pro.” Holly teased nervously and instantly looked like she regretted the comment.

Gail couldn’t help the eye roll and the shake of her head as she steeled her nerves. “No…I don’t apologize and I need to.” She scrunched her eyes closed tight and took a breath. “Holly I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have run…it was stupid and you deserve better…I…”

“Stop.” Holly said as she scooted closer to her. “Gail stop, you don’t need to…”

Gail stood and strode over to the fireplace keeping her back to Holly and picked up small figurine of the Eiffel Tower, she turned it between her figures before she turned back to Holly. “Holly I do. You need to know that I am sorry. This…” she gestured between the two of them, “I don’t know exactly what this is between us but my running away jeopardized it ever becoming more and for that I am sorry.” She was near tears but she held them back as she searched Holly’s face for a sign that she understood what it was that Gail was trying to convey. Gail returned to the couch still playing with the figurine. “You need to know that I ran because of me not you.”

They were both quiet and the silence was a little unnerving but then Holly spoke.

“Why?”

The weight of that single word had burdened Gail all day. She wanted to look down, to focus on her hands or the floor but this was Holly and Holly deserved eye contact.

“I have been asking myself that since the moment I bolted. I am not sure that I can put it to words.” Gail said sincerely as she set the mini monument on the coffee table.

“Try.”

Gail nodded and bit her lower lip and held it for a moment, “All that you said…what you felt for me…you have to understand no one has ever said anything like that or felt that way about me before and my words…they fail me so I acted. I kissed you and it was everything that I never knew that I wanted and…it was too much too fast that…I just reacted.” Gail dug her fingers into her leg and felt a stab of pain but it kept her focused as she continued. “As soon as I left I felt terrible. It is not a good excuse I know that…you have to understand all the feelings…” She cleared her throat, “For a while now I have been having…feelings…feelings that I didn’t…I don’t know… understand?”

Holly nodded and let her continue. “Everything with you…it just happened and it was so easy. I didn’t even notice that there were feelings until they hit me like a ton of bricks. Kissing you…”

“So you have feelings for me?” Holly asked gently.

Gail almost snorted at the absurdity of question and gave Holly her best ‘no duh’ face. “I thought that much was clear but let me very specific. I. Have. Feelings. For. You.” It actually felt good to say the words out loud Gail noticed and she loved how Holly’s eyes lit up at them. Maybe this conversation wouldn’t be so bad.

“So these feelings…” Holly hinted.

“They freak me out okay? I am not used to having them and I don’t know what to do with them.” Gail confessed as she tried to stand but Holly reached for her hand and held it on her lap, effectively keeping her in place. “You have to understand that with Nick and even with Mike I…I knew that they weren’t going to last and…and I didn’t really care that much…but with you…its different…you are different. You got past the walls and have become important to me.” Gail looked down at their joined hands and squeezed, it felt good to have the connection. “See even this…” she said as she lifted their hands a little, “I don’t do this…I don’t hold hands but I do with you and I like it.”

“I like it too and you are not the only one freaking out here.” Holly assured her.

“Yeah?”

“Trust me when I say that I didn’t want to have feelings for you.”

Gail couldn’t help but feel a smidge hurt at the statement. “And why not? I am awesome.”

Holly laughed, “And so modest. I only meant that when I started to realize that my attraction for you went beyond the ‘damn she is hot’ stage I knew that I was headed for heartbreak.”

“You think that I am hot?”

Holly shook her head and Gail smirked. “As I was saying; falling for a straight girl who wants to be your wingwoman is not exactly a recipe for success.”

“To be fair I was a lousy wingwoman. I scared away everyone by calling you my partner after I would talk you up. I meant it as lab partner but I guess they took it a different way.” Gail confessed.

“That would do it.” Holly said with a small smile but it didn’t reach her eyes and Gail knew that she was masking hurt.

Gail tightened her grip on Holly’s hand, “I don’t want to hurt you. That is the last thing that I want.”

Holly nodded, “I guess I need to know if this is real.”

“Real? As opposed to what? Imaginary?” Gail asked feeling a bit confused.

“I need this to be as real for you as it is for me, I don’t want to be an experiment.” Holly said bluntly, letting go of Gail’s hand.

This time Gail did stand and she positioned herself directly in front of Holly and knelt down to eye level. “You are not now or will ever be an experiment.”

“Are you sure?”

Gail nodded affirmatively, “If I had wanted to experiment I would have done it two years ago with Andi…long story.”

Holly quirked an eyebrow and Gail sighed, “Sophomore year we got drunk on some absinth that Andi had stolen from her dad…she said I was pretty and I said that she wasn’t too bad looking and she tried to kiss me. She missed and ended up vomiting all over my lap.”

“That would kill the mood.” Holly laughed and it was music to Gail’s ears.

“Yeah…I guess it wasn’t that long of story but seriously Holly I am not the type to experiment.”

“So what would you call this?” she asked motioning between the two of them.

Gail shrugged, “Honestly I don’t know. I like you and while you are a girl which I will admit is out of my normal wheelhouse that doesn’t change the fact that I think about kissing you…a lot.” The smile that grew on Holly’s face was almost too much for Gail and she looked away as she blushed. “I don’t know if that means that I am gay or if it means that I am Hollyexual.”

“Hollyexual?”

“You know someone that is insanely attracted to nerds named Holly. It is a growing subculture right up there with people that love getting it on with people dressed up like hobbits.”

“Really?” Holly said as she reached for Gail.

“Yeah I don’t really get that one, the big feet are pretty creepy if you ask me.” She smirked before turning more serious, “All I know is that whatever I am I want to be with you…if you will have me.” Gail said without a hint of sarcasm.

“Well…”

Gail stood and took a step back, “You need time…I get that. I am going to go so you can think. Please don’t think that this isn’t me running, just giving you room to think.” She promised as she started to leave.

“Gail sit your ass back down! You are not going anywhere. We are not done here.” Holly demanded and Gail turned to see the med student trying to look serious but failing miserably.

“Okay.” She eyed Holly curiously as she sat back down.

“It is my turn to talk.” Holly stated.

Holly’s pov

Holly inhaled deeply and slowly let it out, “I ambushed you this morning and I know that I should have done it differently but I was so tired of ignoring what I feel for you and it kind erupted like an emotional volcano. So I am sorry too. I do understand the running away, it hurt but I do understand. Do I wish you would have stayed and just talked to me? Of course I do because that is what is so great about us hanging out is that we can tell each other stuff right?” she rushed out in a single breath.

Gail nodded awkwardly as Holly kept going, “You kissing me was unexpected...I was bolstering every bit of courage I had to kiss you and you…you surprised me. I believe you when you say that you don’t want to hurt me…trust me when I say that I don’t want to hurt you either.”

“Holly?”

“Just let me finish Gail.” Holly pleaded holding a hand up to the blonde. “I get that this is all new to you but understand that this is all new to me too. If we are going to take this step we are going to take it slowly.”

Gail arched an eyebrow, “So are you saying that you want to try?”

Holly barely nodded as she watched Gail’s reaction. “I want to try.”

Gail shifted on the couch so that she was pressed right up against Holly’s side, her hand moving to her thigh, her head resting on Holly’s shoulder. “Good.”

Holly turned so that she faced Gail, adjusting her position so that she was sitting cross legged on the couch, “This will only work if we are honest with one another…if something happens you talk to me no more running. Understand?”

Gail nodded enthusiastically as she mirrored Holly’s position, “The same goes for you too.”

“Deal.” Holly agreed smiling as she took Gail’s hand and started to rub small counter clock circles by her thumb.

Gail licked her lower lip as Holly noticed her gaze drift from Holly’s eyes south. “So when you say we need to take this slow…how slow are we talking?” Gail asked as she leaned in, a smirk on her flawless face. “You ask me to move in after three dates slow or the next ice age will be upon us before I get to second base slow?”

Holly grabbed Gail and pulled her towards her so that she was sitting on her lap. Holly could feel her breath hitch as all of her senses were triggered by Gail’s proximity. She could smell the raspberry scent of her shampoo and she could hear Gail’s slightly hurried breathing, she could swear that she could almost taste the other woman’s lip balm as her lips edged closer and all she wanted was to finally touch her…she was so close when she pulled back with a smirk of her own as Gail pouted. “I want to go out on a date.” Holly declared as Gail’s fingers played with the strings of Holly’s hoodie.

“A date?”

“You wanted to know how slow we are going to go?” Holly asked and Gail nodded. “I think that we should date, see if we work as a couple.” She explained and Gail looked thoughtful.

“So are you asking me out or am I asking you out?” Gail asked furrowing her brow.

Holly adjusted her glasses and chuckled, “Would it be easier for you if I did the asking?’ she didn’t wait for an answer. “Gail would you like to go out with me on a date?”

Gail rolled her eyes but smiled, “When? I have a pretty busy social calendar.”

It was Saturday night already and getting too late to go out so Holly answered, “Tomorrow afternoon, I will pick you up at noon.”

Gail tapped her chin as if in thought, “Can you make it one o’clock?”

Holly tilted her head slightly, “I guess so, why?”

Gail gave her most teasing smile, “I need time to go out and buy some fleece and a backpack.”

Holly stuck her tongue out the other woman who was laughing at her own cleverness. It was a good thing that Holly found it cute.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N So what do you think? I will try and get the date chapter done faster but I make no promises. Let me know what you think and pass along any date ideas.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N I know you don't want excuses so I will spare you but needless to say this wasn't the easiest chapter to write. A big thanks to those that reviewed and to those that gave me encouragement when I was ready to toss my laptop out the window. All mistakes are mine. I have no rights to Rookie Blue or its characters.
> 
> A/N2 I took down the chapter and made a few changes. I have been writing all weekend and hadn't had the chance to read any of the updated stories. After I posted I read the latest chapter of Stumbling Towards Gracefulness by TOFanGirl and found there to be some similarities. I didn't want anyone to think that either of us had copied the other so I made a few changes to the chapter. It doesn't change the end result of the chapter.

 

Gail's pov

_12:45 p.m._

Gail stood in her bedroom with a towel wrapped around her as she stared at the pile of clothes flung onto her bed. She held up a sweater and pair of jeans and scrutinized them for a second before discarding them with the rest of the rejected wardrobe choices. "This would be a lot easier if Holly would just tell me what we are doing." She thought as she went back to her now almost empty closet, should she go casual? Dressy? It felt too early in the day for dressy but this was a date so…hell if she knew what to do. "But no all she tells me is to dress warm, like that really helps." Gail groaned to the empty room. She had really had never had issues with getting ready for a date before but this wasn't like any other date, this was a date with Holly and she really wanted it to go well and that started with looking just right at least she had her hair done.

Her mind had been wandering since leaving Holly's place the night before, it had felt good talking to her; giving Holly insight into the crazy mixed up mind that made up Gail. She had thrown a lot Holly's way and the other girl hadn't run so neither would she. The look on Holly's face when she had asked out Gail was priceless and even the thought of it now made Gail smile. She knew that they had a lot more things to talk about but they had time, right now she just needed to get dressed. A look at her alarm clock told her that she needed to hurry up because the ever punctual Ms. Stewart would be arriving in less than 5 minutes. After slipping into one of her nicer bra and pantie sets, okay her only nice pair of underwear, Gail pulled on her favorite pair of jeans and a slate blue sweater that she had gotten from Traci for Christmas and gave herself a once over in the mirror, she looked good or at least she hoped Holly would think so. She slipped on her leather jacket just as she heard a soft knock at the door. With a smile she hurried to the door to see a slightly apprehensive Holly on the other side of it.

"Hey you are here." Holly exclaimed as she leaned against the door.

Gail arched an eye brow, "I live here…and you said that you were going to pick me up so of course I am here."

Holly blushed and dropped her gaze to the floor, "I guess I was a little worried that you would back out."

The words stung but Gail refused to let them get to her and instead rolled her eyes and huffed, "Well I am ready. You had better have planned an epic date."

_Thirty minutes later_

Holly's pov

The car ride had been pleasant; they had made small talk, joked about some of their classmates, commented on the record snowfall and how they couldn't wait for warmer weather. Neither of them broached the elephant in the car, Holly knew she had questions for Gail about where she saw them going but at the same time she just wanted to enjoy the day, so she stayed quiet. They reached their destination and it took a moment for Gail to realize where they were. "You brought me to the carnival?" she asked with bright eyes. Holly wasn't sure if this had been a good decision until she saw Gail whip off her seatbelt and leap from the car chanting, "This is awesome!" Holly smiled to herself as she got out of the car, obviously she had made a good choice. She had to chase after Gail as the excited girl had run ahead to the ticket booth. "I don't know if you could tell but I have a fondness for carnivals." She admitted when Holly finally caught up.

"No? I couldn't tell, what with all the bouncing and shrieking." Holly teased as she paid for the two of them. As they entered the noisy fairground Holly looked around, there were a lot of people there for such a chilly day, the grayish snow covered ground was littered with wrappers and garbage and the rides looked dangerous in her opinion but when she was trying to figure out what to do with Gail this looked like the best option. She felt gloved fingers snake their way between her own and she felt ecstatic that Gail would so willing hold her hand.

"Come on let's check out the games." Gail urged as she pulled Holly along and it was hard not to get caught up in Gail's enthusiasm. They weaved through the rows of games as Gail reminisced about sneaking out as a kid with Steve to visit the carnival and getting turned away from the rollercoaster for being too small to ride it. Holly could imagine a ten year Gail ripping into a poor carney about him discriminating against her over her height and laughed. "It wasn't funny nerd I was almost tall enough that ride nazi had it in for me. Anyway Steve rode it for half an hour and I got stuck holding onto his letterman's jacket, well until I traded it for a few hot dogs and a funnel cake." Gail admitted.

"You gave away his jacket? He must have been mad when he got off of the ride." Holly remarked as they went down another row of games.

Gail bobbed her head in agreement, "Well yeah but what could he do? It wasn't like he could rat me out to our mother because then he would have to admit that he took me to the carnival and left me alone; he wasn't going to risk that. No one willingly faces the wrath of superintendent mom unless you really have to." Gail said with a shudder and Holly gave her hand a little squeeze. "This one, this is it." Gail said as they came to a stop in front of a target shooting game. "I am going to win you a prize because I am that awesome." The blonde said confidently as she passed some money to the man running the attraction.

She raised the air rifle to her shoulder and Holly watched in amazement as Gail took aim and fired with speed and incredible accuracy as she hit all of the moving targets. It was obvious that Gail had spent some time around guns. "What did I tell you? Awesome!" Gail said in a sing-song voice as her eyebrows danced.

Holly had to agree it had been impressive but she didn't want to add to Gail's already massive ego so she shrugged indifferently and smiled, "Lots of people win at this game that is why the prizes are smaller."

Gail attempted an icy glare but ended up sticking out her tongue before saying, "Whatever pick out your prize nerd." she said as she checked her phone and turned away to read a new message. Holly only needed a moment to pick out the stuffed toy she wanted and pointed it out to the bored looking game attendant. Holly accepted her prize and started to walk away as Gail tried to see what she had picked out but Holly tucked it under her coat before she could see. "Hey I want to see what you picked." Gail said as fell in step with Holly.

"Uh uh." Holly replied as she wrapped her arms protectively around her mid-section keeping her new baby safe.

"Ah come on you only have it because I won it for you, let me see!" Gail whined as her lower lip quivered. It was the lip quiver that did Holly in, she didn't think that she would ever be able to say no to Gail when she did that. Holly pulled the prize out from under her coat and handed it to Gail, who in turn arched an eyebrow as to question her choice. "Why this one?" she asked handing it back.

Holly tucked it into the crook of her arm and smiled, "It reminds me of you." She said simply as she started to walk again but Gail blocked her path.

With hands on her hips and her brow furrowed Gail said through gritted teeth, "A gargoyle reminds you of me? I think I am a little offended here. Explain."

It was hard to keep from laughing at Gail's seriousness but Holly held it back. "I have my reasons."

"I'm waiting."

Holly smiled and pushed her glasses further up her nose, "My reasons in no particular order are one: I think gargoyles are cute and so are you even when you are frowning. Two: You both have hard exteriors but are all soft on the inside. Three: The purpose of gargoyles are to protect and that is what you do at least that is what you are going to…" Holly was cut off from finishing her thought by Gail's lips on hers. It wasn't much more than a light brush of their lips but still caused Holly's heart to speed up.

"Sometimes you talk too much." Gail said softly as she pulled away.

As she tried to slow her breathing Holly shook her head, "But I had more reasons."

Gail leaned in and gave her a peck on her cheek, "I think I got the gist of it."

They walked in silence for a few minutes taking in the sights and sounds of the fairground before Holly spoke up after taking Gail's hand in hers, "Not that I am complaining but I thought we agreed to take things slow."

"Slow is so open to question. I mean what is slow?" Gail said plainly. "Besides I have never been all that great at judging speeds, one of my only deficiencies."

Holly smirked, "Kind of an important skill for a cop, isn't part of your job to pull over speeders?"

Gail shrugged, "That is why they give us radar guns duh. Now I think that it is time for you to win me something." Holly followed Gail as she weaved through the games, it looked like Gail was more interested in the prizes than the games. She finally stopped and Holly groaned.

"Are you serious? This game is rigged, no one wins." Holly said a little too loudly earning her a glare from the one eyed carney manning the game. "Sorry but it is true." She said to the man who nodded in agreement. "Even he agrees Gail."

Gail ignored her outburst and pointed at the prize she wanted. "Win me the big blue and pink one."

"Maybe a different game, like the basketball one?"

Gail's smirk got wider, "Nope this one." She said popping the 'p'. "Like I said the blue and pink one."

Holly shook her head and got some cash from her wallet and grumbled, "The blue and pink one." under her breath. The game was easy enough, knock the three stacked metal milk bottles down with a softball but if it was that simple more people would win Holly thought as the attendant handed her three softballs. She set two of them down on the counter and tossed one lightly in the air to get a feel for it. It felt much lighter than a regulation ball. Holly gauged the distance to the milk bottles and decided that between her knowledge of physics and her softball skills that she could do this. After doing some quick math in her head she determined the velocity and angle she needed to throw the ball and took aim and threw… and she watched the ball hit the top of the upper most bottle…it didn't even wobble. She could hear Gail laugh behind her but didn't turn around, instead she picked up the next ball and recalculated her trajectories, maybe there was a slope that she was unaware of that needed to be included in her computations, she thought as she lined up her next throw. It was a perfect pitch but it merely glanced off of the left base bottle. Holly was getting a little aggravated now, her math was right, her aim was true and these damn balls were not cooperating. She forgot about doing the math and just threw the third ball as hard as she could and it hit dead center of the pyramid of bottles and bounced off them without so much a tremble. The attendant caught the ricocheted ball one handed and went back to reading his magazine as Gail grabbed her from behind to steady herself from laughing so hard.

Holly fished some more money and slammed it on the counter, "Again." The attendant raised the eyebrow over his good eye but accepted the money and gave her three more balls.

_Twenty minutes and 30 balls later…_

"Holly not that I don't appreciate the effort but stop. You are not going to win and that vein on your forehead is throbbing and looks kind of scary. I don't even want the stupid prize, come on Holly I saw garlic fries, you love garlic fries." Gail pleaded.

"One more time. I think I have it figured out." Holly said through gritted teeth. The truth was she wasn't any closer to figuring it out but she wasn't ready to admit defeat. She shoved what looked like the last of her cash at the carney but he refused to take it.

"Listen to your girlfriend, it is time to stop. No one wins and the garlic fries are delicious." He said as he backed away from the counter and bumped the table with the milk bottles hard, hard enough to knock the top bottle down. "Hey look we have a winner." He said with a one eyed wink as he handed Holly a tiny blue and pink elephant.

Holly laughed as she accepted it and mouthed "Thank you." to him as she turned to Gail and presented her with the prize she "won" for her.

"For you." She beamed as Gail took the tiny pachyderm that was slightly larger than her hand.

"Thank you. Now can we get food? Watching you throw air balls made me hungry." Gail asked as she hooked her arm through Holly's as she led them to the concession area.

Holly laughed, "When aren't you hungry? I swear you should be huge the way you eat."

The blonde shot her a glare, "You are just jealous of my amazing metabolism. For that I am getting one of everything."

True to her word Gail ordered one of everything and Holly felt sick to her stomach, she barely had enough money to pay for all of it so she order the cheapest thing on the menu and started to look for loose change in her bag as Gail handed the cashier money. "I got this Holls."

They walked over to the waiting area and Holly turned to Gail, "I asked you out that means I pay."

Gail shrugged with a sweet smile, "I am new to this whole dating a girl thing, and no one has explained the rules, hell I haven't even gotten the manual or my complementary fleece yet. I plead ignorance."

"You really are insane."

"Well you want to date me what does that make you?" Gail said as she shoulder bumped Holly.

"More insane. We make quite the pair." Holly waited for Gail's reaction to her calling them a pair but was saved by their food arriving. Gail grabbed to overloaded tray and followed Holly to an empty table in the heated eating area.

They both took off their jackets and Holly allowed her eyes to take in the sweater that accentuated all of Gail's already eye pleasing features and then moved her gaze to the very sad looking burger that Gail placed in front of her. It was barely big enough for two bites and she looked at Gail's pile of much more appetizing food wistfully. Gail rolled her eyes and looked over her food before putting one on the hotdogs in front of Holly and grabbed Holly's pathetic burger. She took the top bun off of her own triple stacked burger and removed some of the bacon and one of the meat patties and put it on Holly's before giving it back to her without a word.

"Thanks." Holly said before taking a big bite of it. Gail pushed the basket of garlic fries between them.

"I could hear your stomach growling from here. I may not know a lot about dating but I am pretty sure that your date attacking you over funnel cake isn't good so you are welcome." Gail said teasingly.

Holly was too busy eating to answer but took the time to watch Gail methodically place some of the garlic fries in her burger and pour some of the ranch dipping sauce over it before putting the top bun back on. Holly swallowed hard as she watched Gail chomp down on the enormous burger, it was hard to believe that someone so small could eat so much. Holly went back to eating and enjoyed the sounds of Gail eating, not so much the sounds of chewing but the little utterances of pleasure the blonde took from the food, the moans made the fine hairs on the back of Holly's neck stand at attention. She really liked the moans, it made her wonder what else would make those noises. Gail licked her lips slowly before she wiped her mouth with a napkin and grabbed a fry, "Are you going to eat or stare because if you aren't hungry…" she said as she reached for the hot dog in front of Holly but was met with Holly swatting away her hand.

"Mine, no take backs. Just because I choose to enjoy my food and not inhale it doesn't mean you can scavenge my food." Holly scolded teasingly as she took a big bite of the hot dog.

Gail rubbed her hand and sat back shaking her head. "I see how it is, I can share my food…"

"Gail?" Holly interrupted. "I had a reason for slapping your hand."

"I would love to hear your reason nerd."

"The hot dog has ketchup on it and I seem to remember a certain snarky blonde being allergic to the main ingredient of ketchup. So I was kind of saving your life." Holly said using her authoritative voice.

"Show me." Gail order as she reached for the allegedly dangerous food but Holly knowing that it was in fact ketchup free popped the last bit in her mouth and destroyed the evidence.

"Oops."

Gail raised an eyebrow and slowly shook her head, "I never would have pegged you for the obstructer of justice type Holly; I have to say I am a little disappointed in you. But I know a way for you to redeem yourself."

Holly thought she saw a mischievous glint in Gail's eyes and wondered what the girl had in store for her. "Gail I am not going on any of those rides, I am fairly certain that they are death traps disguised as entertainment."

"I am not going to make you go on any rides you big wuss. No the only one taking a risk is me." Gail said as she stood up and walked around the table to Holly.

Holly was feeling nervous, what was Gail up to? "What do you mean? What risk?"

Gail plopped down on the bench next to Holly and leaned back against the table. "Well I am only in danger if you were telling the truth but honestly Holly you are a terrible liar so I think I will be safe." Holly didn't have a chance to speak as Gail placed a hand on the base of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. She was more than a little surprised by the action and more so when Holly felt Gail's tongue run across her lips as if asking permission for entry; Holly gave it freely, it is the closest that Holly had felt to bliss. They both got lost in the moment as Holly reached for Gail wanting her closer, needing her closer. She was getting dizzy from the kiss and broke it for a moment to breath and looked into Gail's darkening eyes.

Gail's breathing was labored as she smiled, "Liar."

Holly's brain wasn't working properly at the moment and so she responded with an eloquent, "Huh?"

Gail licked her lips and kissed the corner of Holly's mouth, "If there had been ketchup on the hot dog I would have a very different reason for breathing hard after that kiss."

Holly pulled away and shifted so that she was straddling the bench. "My god you really are insane! What if I had been telling the truth?! You could have…you would have…" She once again found Gail's lips on her own.

"You forget that I ordered the hotdog nerd and I always check to make sure. I may be insane but I am not stupid. Now I am I going to have to kiss you quiet every time you start rambling?"

Holly nodded, "Good plan, it could work."

Gail got up and walked back to the other side of the table and started to pick up their lunch debris, "What do you plan on naming your gargoyle?" she asked.

Holly smiled as she played with the stuffed toy, "I was thinking Gail or Little Peck."

"Are you serious?" Gail asked rolling her eyes, "You can't name it Little Peck, that brings up all kinds of middle school nicknames…little pecker was comes to mind." She muttered.

"Okay Little Peck is out. Can I name her Cranky Pants?" Holly asked as she made the tiny gargoyle wings flap.

"But it doesn't have any pants…well then I think I will name mine Dr. Jurisprudence Nerdinstein."

She had to laugh at the seriousness that Gail exuded, "Wow such a big name for such a little elephant."

"It would have sounded better on the big one." Gail shot back as she dumped the garbage in the trash can. "So one a scale of one to awesome how is this date going?"

It was hard not to smile at Gail's attempt to see how she was doing date-wise. "Shouldn't I be asking you, since I asked you out?"

"I got to shoot things and eat my body weight in junk food…basically best day ever so I give it 9.99. I took off a tenth of a point for you not sharing the hot dog. Your turn." Gail said smugly.

"Hard to say, the date isn't over but right now I would give it an 8." She said knowing that it would get a rise out of the blonde.

"I don't believe you. What was your best date?" Gail challenged.

"I had a date take me to one of Keith Campbell's final lectures before he died." Holly explained but Gail looked clueless. "He was the doctor that cloned Dolly the sheep." She clarified and Gail sat back down laughing.

"You really are a nerd! God I have my work cut out for me to top that one." Gail said between laughs. They both got up and Gail was picking up her jacket when Holly caught in her peripheral vision a teenage boy staggering towards them looking an unhealthy color, before she could say anything the kid fell onto Gail and released the contents of his stomach all over her sweater. The boy muttered something that sounded like sorry and ran when he saw Gail's face, Holly would have run too if Gail glared at her like that.

Gail's pov

She refused to look down, she didn't want to see the vomit but she didn't need to to know that it was bad, the smell alone told her that. "Tell me that it isn't that bad."

"It doesn't look that bad." Holly said softly avoiding her eyes.

"Liar." Gail grumbled as she looked down to see the devastation. "Argh! He got my boots too. Where is the little pukey punk?!"

"Let me help you get cleaned up. You can enact your revenge later." Holly offered as she grabbed her own jacket and slipped it on as she nudged Gail towards the restrooms. Once inside Gail stepped into an empty stall and carefully peeled off the soiled shirt. "Pass it over and I will rinse it for you." Holly offered from the other side of the door. Gail rolled the sweater up so nothing would fall onto Holly and passed it over the door. "Oh it smells." She heard Holly say as she gagged a little. Gail climbed up onto the toilet so that she could watch Holly over the stall door. The med student acted as if she were defusing a bomb, carrying it oh so carefully to the sinks and unrolling it as if the vomit was going to jump on her. It would have been funny had it not been her new sweater.

"So doctor can it be saved?" Gail asked as she peered over the stall door.

Holly stopped rinsing and held up the sweater to look it over. "Well the perp ate at least two chili cheese dogs and what can only be described as a crap-ton of pink cotton candy."

"That wasn't my question. Doc can you save it?"

Holly turned to face her, "I am so sorry Gail, I have done everything I could to save it but this was a lost cause from the moment you were hit, chili cheese leaves no survivors."

"But it was so new…today was the first day I wore it…" Gail sighed as she stepped down and leaned with her back against the door. "Are you sure that there is nothing you can do?"

Holly gave a strained laugh, "I'm sorry, maybe a dry cleaner would have better luck but I have done everything I can do with barely warm water and powdered soap. I have a spare shirt in my gym bag back at the car. I will go get it for you. Wait here."

"Not like I can go out there topless nerd!" Gail called out but she knew Holly was already gone. "Don't want to get arrested for public indecency…mother would love that." She muttered as she wrapped her arms around herself, the restroom wasn't exactly a warm cozy spot. After a few minutes she was getting impatient, "Come on Holly, hyperthermia is going to down grade this date to a 6." Gail said to herself as she shivered.

"You aren't going to become hyperthermic you big hypochondriac if anything you would become hypothermic. Hyperthermia is when your body heat rises, hypothermia is when it drops." Gail looked up and over to the next stall and saw Holly looking down on her smirking.

"Don't be a perve and stare. Can I have the shirt? I'm freezing." Holly dropped the sweat shirt onto Gail's head. "Turn around?"

"Nothing I haven't already seen Gail." Holly said but she dropped out of sight anyways.

Gail pulled the Holly-scented hoodie on over her head and relaxed into it. "I am beginning to think that you set this whole thing up to see me topless again Stewart." She accused as she stepped out of the stall and found Holly leaning against the sinks.

Holly laughed and smiled that half smile that had a way of making Gail forget what she was thinking about a minute prior. "You got me Gail, I plied a kid with junk food and made him go on the tilt-a-whirl until he felt sick enough to projectile vomit all over you just so I could see you in your very nice bra. Black suits you by the way."

"I knew it. You are a devious woman Holly Stewart." Gail exclaimed in a faux shocked voice. "Can we leave now? The thought of going on rides isn't as appealing now after the tilt-a-whirl comment."

Holly nodded as she pushed away from the sinks, "Sure after you wash off your boots. I have a no puke policy in my car. Then we can start part two of Holly and Gail's excellent adventure."

"We are not calling our first date that."

"Too late. Now wash off those boots, times' a wasting."

_Twenty minutes later in Holly's car_

"Are you planning on telling me what we are doing or do I need to text Dov that you have kidnapped me? I will tell you right now I parents won't pay a ransom. Something about not negotiating with terrorists." Gail said as she watched the scenery change.

Holly kept her eyes on the road but Gail could see the corners of her mouth twitch, "Relax, no one is getting kidnapped, we are almost there."

It took a moment but then it clicked, "Why are you taking me home?" Gail asked a little bewildered. "The date was going well until…well the demise of my sweater…but we can salvage the day…"

The car stopped in front of Gail's apartment building and Holly turned and placed her hand on Gail's shoulder and squeezed. "The date is going great, I love the date but Gail…you smell…like bad…really _really_  bad and I spend my days around cadavers and other decomposing things so that says a lot coming from me. There is a cheesy horror movie marathon at the revival theatre and I don't think they would let you in smelling the way you do. I brought you home so that you could shower and change so that we could continue our date after."

"Oh…okay." Gail sniffed and she had to admit she wasn't exactly smelling lily fresh. "You want to come up, the boys are out doing boy things." Gail offered as she exited the car.

Holly got out as well, "Sure, it will give the car a chance to air out." She said in a teasing manner and followed Gail into the building and into the elevator. "Maybe you should take the stairs?" Holly suggested as they entered the confined space.

"Shut it and hold your breath nerd." Gail glared as she pushed the button for her floor. She watched as Holly took an exaggerated deep breath in before the doors closed and held it. "Smart ass." Gail said rolling her eyes as she took a step closer to her. Gail traced a finger along the zipper of Holly's jacket and let her finger linger along the curve of Holly's breast before letting it drift down. She watched Holly gulp and start to cough and Gail laughed at how easy it was to get her worked up. "That will teach you." She smirked as the elevator dinged.

"You don't play fair." Holly said as she stopped coughing.

"Nope." Gail said as she fished her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door. "Make yourself comfortable, I won't be long." Gail said as she pointed to the couch and headed to her bedroom.

Holly's pov

She had been in Gail's shared apartment numerous times but never left alone for any length of time so Holly took her time to really look around. It was obvious that boys lived here, while the apartment was clean it had a faint odor of dirty socks and stale pizza, not to mention the stack of shoot'em up video games but she knew that Gail played those as well. Holly wandered over to the small bookcase near Chris's bedroom door, she was surprised that several of the books were on photography and history. She pulled what looked like a photo album out and started to open it but felt a brief moment of hesitation, she didn't want to invade anyone's privacy so she went to put it back when a loose photo fell out. It was a picture of a little dark blond haired girl, her hair pulled into pig tails holding a hockey stick twice as tall as her. The girl was clearly a young Gail, perhaps four years old, a huge smile plastered on her face. Holly glanced around the room like a criminal and took the album to the couch and opened it.

It wasn't a very large book it only had a few dozen pages in it and it looked only half filled. Holly flipped to the first page, it was a picture of a young redheaded boy holding a baby, he looked scared as the baby was bawling, its tiny mouth wide open, Gail and Steve she assumed with a smile; of course Gail would have been a difficult baby. On the next page there was the picture Gail had mention when they were first getting to know each other; Gail couldn't have been more than a few hours old, still had the red wrinkled complexion but there she was with her wide blue eyes dressed in a little police officer onsie. The next few pages had various photos of Gail as a toddler and as an adolescent. Holly's smile faltered as she could see that as Gail grew and got older the smiles in the pictures looked less genuine and more forced until they looked completely fake. She thought back to her own childhood, she had no fake smiles captured on film; it was sad to think that Gail couldn't say the same.

It surprised Holly that the pictures jumped from Gail as a ten year old to her at seventeen…she flipped through the rest of the pictures to see if they were out of order or if she overlooked the missing years.

"They aren't there. There are no pictures." Holly heard behind her as she dropped the album as if it were a hot rock.

"I…I…I was just…sorry." Holly stuttered as she reached to pick the album back up and stood up.

Gail stepped out from behind the couch wearing only a towel around her mid-section, her hair damp and hanging loose, curly slightly framing her face. "There is no evidence of my ' _awkward years'_  as my mother likes calling them. But I can fill you in, imagine me with a few pimples and every year a few pounds heavier until I was fifteen. That was the year I got a personal trainer for my birthday and monthly visits to the dermatologist."

Holly wasn't sure how to respond for a few reasons, first Gail was practically naked in front of her and what can you say to a person after that confession without it sound trite or cliché? Did she mention that Gail was wearing only a towel?

Gail rolled her eyes as she tightened her hold on the towel, "I think that our date is over…"

Holly felt her entire body tense and freeze, she had gone too far with looking at the book, "I am so sorry I should have asked…I knew better but I was curious…"she was cut off once again with Gail's lips on hers. Holly reached out to pull her closer but Gail took a step back breaking the kiss before it could become more heated.

"Holly it started to snow again and we have class tomorrow and I know that you would have a nerdy little freak out if you got stuck here without your books." Gail explained softly and slowly as she took Holly's hand. "I didn't mean that I want the date to be over."

Holly ran her thumb over the top of Gail's hand soothing small circles over the warm skin. "You could come home with me." She said softly and then realized how that sounded.

"Now look who has trouble with taking things slow." Gail smirked, leaving Holly feeling relieved that she hadn't gone too far. "Holls I would love to go back to your place but…"

Holly gulped, "But?"

Gail bit her lip and shrugged, "It's a school night." Holly let out a laugh and let go of Gail's hand and gave her a light nudge to Gail's bare shoulder making the towel slip slightly. "Hey watch it!"

"Sorry! Sorry…look you could pack your school stuff and go from my place in the morning to classes. I promise all I want to do is talk…" Holly rambled as Gail started to leave the room.

Holly slumped back onto the couch and threw her head back in frustration, she couldn't help but feel like she was blowing it. "Holly?" she sat up and turned around to see Gail's head poking out from her bedroom. "I am going to pack a few things and get dressed could you make sure the dvr is set to record 'The Walking Dead' Dov keeps forgetting to program it."

Fumbling with the television remote Holly it took a fraction of a moment for it to hit Holly that Gail was coming home with her. A flood of feelings surged through her but the dominant emotion was hope: this was going to work, Gail and she had a shot.

She was pulled out of her inner happy dance by a now fully clothed Gail (still wearing Holly's hoodie) tapping her shoulder, "All set?"

"Yep." Holly said with a smile as she saw Gail's backpack. "Any fleece in there?"

Gail rolled her eyes, "You will just have to wait and see. By the way nerd you suck at lying." Holly furrowed her brow and tried to think, other than the hot dog she had been honest. Gail held the door open for her, "If you think all we are going to do is talk tonight you are in serious denial." Holly could feel her mouth dry and a heat build in her, unable to speak she followed Gail out the door with a new thought, "Who needs cloned sheep when you have Gail?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N I can't believe that I actually finished this chapter. It did not want to end but somehow I got it done. What do you think?


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date continuation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Better late than never.

Gail’s pov

The car ride to Holly’s was quiet but not in their usual comfortable silence, no this quiet as brimming with nervousness, excitement and anxiety. Gail couldn’t help but wring her hands as she stared straight ahead and watched as small snowflakes whirled around adding to the accumulation of snow that still hadn’t melted from the last flurry. She knew that the grown up thing to do would be to talk to Holly about her nerves but what could she say when she didn’t understand them herself? Why did this need to feel so complicated? Everything felt like it was pulling her in opposite directions, a large portion of her was dying to kiss Holly again, to be kissed by Holly, to touch her and be touched but there was that little voice, that sounded way too much like her mother for her liking, which warned that all of this was happening too soon. It was hard to dispute that it was happening fast but it felt so right. Gail could say with great certainty that she had never felt like this with anyone else, she never felt so eager to take the next step…to get close to someone and let them really see her. It was terrifying…but it was Holly. Gail stole a glance at the girl next to her, she seemed completely focused on driving but Gail knew better, Holly’s eyebrows were knitted in a way that Gail recognized as her problem solving face. She wondered if Holly was having second thoughts about inviting her over, she wanted to ask but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer. 

Before anything could be said Holly pulled into a parking spot in front of her building, Gail turned to face her but as she opened her mouth to speak she realized that she didn’t know what to say and quickly looked down and away. Holly seemed to sense her apprehension, “I could take you home…” she said softly, “Or we could just talk…I mean talk like with words…not “talk”…I just want you…us…to be okay…we could even just study tonight…” There was something about how Holly could be so emotionally exposed that left Gail feeling like she had no control of her body when she attacked Holly’s lips with her own. She strained against the seatbelt to get closer as she pulled Holly towards her but her own seatbelt held her in place. Gail felt Holly’s hand cup her cheek and slide down her front and rest near her lap and then she heard a click and was free of her restraints. It took less than a second for Gail to slide across the bench seat and straddle Holly, the steering wheel tight against her back but she didn’t care as Holly’s hands found their way to tangle in her hair and pull her closer at the small of her back. 

All thoughts had erased themselves from Gail’s head but how much she liked the taste of Holly’s lips on her own and how good those lips felt as they traveled to a sensitive spot on her neck. No amount of self-control was to be found as Gail slid her hands down Holly’s chest and rested on the soft but firm breasts of the girl that was currently nipping gently at her earlobe. It was a reflex to let her head roll to the side to give the med student more access and she didn’t disappoint as her lips bit and soothed a path down to Gail’s collar bone. She loved the stuttered moan that escaped Holly’s occupied mouth as she started to massage them through her thick coat. The almost burning need to feel more of Holly was all encompassing as her hand found its way under Holly’s jacket and shirt. Gail had never been so happy to be wearing thin yoga pants when she felt Holly’s fingers digging into the soft flesh of her ass when their little bubble of solitude was interrupted by someone knocking on the driver’s side window. The sudden noise startled Gail so much that she pulled away abruptly and rammed her back into the steering wheel and banged the back of her head on the windshield. 

Holly’s pov

Holly tried to calm her breathing as she rolled down her window as Gail tried to stealthy slide back to the passenger side, a woman who looked about a hundred was standing there with a mischievous smile on her face as if she knew exactly what was happening inside the fogged up car. It was her elderly next door neighbor, for some reason Holly felt as if she had just been caught by a parent and her voice lost in the embarrassment. As she struggled to speak it was Gail who leaned over her to say, “Hello Mrs. Gallagher…is there something we can help you with?” 

“I saw you girls drive up and I was wondering if you could help me with my groceries.” The older woman asked sweetly. 

Not knowing what else to do Holly nodded, her face burning red as Gail’s hands grazed the tops of her thighs as she moved back to the passenger side. “Not a problem.” Gail answered as she opened the car door and followed Mrs. Gallagher to her car but not before shooting Holly a glance that screamed ‘Are you coming?’. Holly took a moment to collect herself, she couldn’t remember ever getting so worked up before, there was an actually physical need to touch Gail coursing through her body, not a want or desire but a need to feel Gail’s body against hers. Fuck with going slow, she needed Gail now.

Holly took a deep breath and released her seatbelt and got out of the car; the cold air hit her and it felt good, it bought her mind into focus. She had three things to do: help Mrs. Gallagher as quickly as possible, get Gail into her apartment and do both of these things without jumping Gail and pushing her up against a wall and losing control. She watched Gail take at least two trips worth of grocery bags in her arms and smirked that Gail had similar plans. With both of them weighed down with multiple bags it only took one trip from the car to her neighbor’s apartment. “I just want to thank you girls for the help, it would have taken me forever especially with all of these stairs.”

Gail quickly but gently dropped her bags and grabbed Holly’s hand as she moved towards the door, “No thanks necessary Mrs. G…you have a good night.” She said so hurriedly that Holly wanted to laugh.

“Oh do you have to go so soon, I have fresh cookies.” the older woman offered as they were almost out the door. Gail stopped immediately and Holly knew that her girlfriend (could she call Gail that yet?) was a sucker for homemade… well anything homemade and their escape would be delayed. 

“Maybe for just a minute…” Gail said almost pleadingly, her request directed at Holly. 

“Just for a minute.” Holly confirmed as they walked back towards the kitchen where Mrs. G was putting what did look like really good cookies on a plate.

When all three of them had taken their seats and Gail had ungraciously crammed a cookie into her mouth that her neighbor spoke, “So what do you girls have planned tonight?”  
It was such an innocent question but it caused Gail to choke on her cookie and make Holly blush. Gail swallowed hard and the both answered at once: “Study.”

“Oh really what?” 

This time Holly answered alone, “We have a test tomorrow on…uh…”

“Anatomy.” Gail finished for her, her eyes twinkled suggestively. Holly wanted to hit her but refrained. Instead she stood up and motioned for Gail to join her.

They were almost to the door when Mrs. G handed Gail the rest of the cookies, “Studying anatomy…huh…in my day we called it sex but to each their own I guess. You girls have fun. Take some cookies with you, “studying” can make you work up an appetite.”

Neither girl knew how to respond so Gail just took the cookies and Holly muttered a word of thanks before the door closed behind them. They walked slowly away pausing at Holly’s door. Gail was the first to speak, “Your neighbor is kind of awesome…and look more cookies!” she laughed.   
Holly laughed and shook her head as she found her keys, she was kind of glad that the mood had shifted, as much as she wanted to pick right back up where they left things in the car, Holly knew that they needed to talk…actual talking with words.  
She unlocked the door and let Gail go in ahead of her, Gail dropped her coat on a hook by the door, set the plate of cookies on the table and went straight for the couch, stretching out on it. Holly watched as Gail used her feet pull her boots off and sigh contently. “Are you coming in?”

Holly took her glasses off and rubbed the bridge of her nose before replacing her glasses on her face, she stepped into the room and shut the door, locking it behind her. She kicked her own shoes off and pulled off her coat, setting it on the back of a chair and sat on the floor facing Gail. “We need to talk.”

Unfazed Gail sat up, “Okay.”

She hadn’t expected Gail to agree so quickly and Holly wasn’t sure how to start this conversation.

“I…”

Gail slid off the couch and onto the floor and draped her legs over Holly’s, “Let me, I think I know what you are going to say.” Gail pushed up pretend glasses up her nose, “Gail I think we need to slow down, this is all too new and I don’t want to rush you into a physical relationship before you are ready. I care too much about you to jeopardize our fledgling union.” Gail smirked as she continued, “Not that I don’t find you wildly attractive and fight every urge to rip your clothes off, I want the moment to be right…for the both of us. Does that about cover it?”

When did she become a mind reader? Holly couldn’t believe how Gail managed to vocalize what Holly was thinking and still manage to varnish the words with a healthy dose of sarcasm, “Yeah that sounds right.” Holly played with the hem of her shirt as Gail sat next to her not saying a word, “What are you thinking?”

Gail removed her legs from Holly’s lap and shifted so that she was hovering over Holly’s lap, her knees resting on the floor, pinning Holly in place. “I think that you are over thinking this. Holly we can try to go slow but even right now I want to kiss you and by the darkening of your eyes I think you want to kiss me too. I don’t want to slow down, now that I have felt your touch and tasted your lips I honestly don’t think I could back off. But if you need us to slow down we will but don’t do it on my account.”

Holly looked into Gail’s so very blue eyes and saw how sincere she was and it only fueled her need for her more. “You don’t feel rushed?”

Gail smirked as she crept closer to her slowly shaking her head, “The way I see it we have already been on a few dates we just didn’t know it at the time. By my estimation we have been on…” she paused and counted on her fingers silently, “five dates.”

“How do you figure?” Holly was more than a little curious as to what Gail considered a date.

“Well our first date was when I took you to the diner on the second day of class. Our second date was when you came by my place and we attempted to make dinner and ended up ordering pizza. We had several running dates that ended in going out for breakfast, we went to the club and today going to the carnival, so technically more than five but it’s not like we need to count.” Gail said as she placed her hands on Holly’s shoulders. “So the question is do you want to take this slower?” Holly closed her eyes as Gail placed light kisses along her jaw and tilted her head back to give her more room as Gail moved down her neck. “I need an answer Holls.” Gail whispered into her ear.

For someone that loved words Holly couldn’t find the right ones that could have possibly conveyed what she wanted to say so she did the next best thing she decided to show Gail what she wanted instead. All it took was one arm to wrap around Gail’s waist to draw her tight against Holly and the other hand to tangle in Gail’s now loose hair to pull her lips to her own and Gail had her answer.

Gail’s pov

Maybe it was the fact that it had been a while since Gail had someone touch her the way Holly was at the moment but who was she kidding no one had ever touched her the way Holly was and for that reason Gail felt her entire body react to the simplest of caresses. It hadn’t taken but a minute for Holly’s hands to find their way under the borrowed hoodie and pull it off of Gail as she worked her own hands under Holly’s button-up. After pulling it loose from her jeans Gail went to work on the buttons but her patience was at an all-time low. “Help.” She pleaded as Holly’s teeth grazed the newly exposed skin of her collar bone, she was so happy that she only wore a tank top under the removed hoodie. Gail felt Holly’s fingers join her own as they worked in unison to rid the med student of her shirt. Now it wasn’t as if Gail had never seen another woman’s body before (she was a member of a gym after all) but seeing Holly in just her bra and jeans sent a shot of heat through Gail that she had never experienced before. 

After a moment or two of unashamed staring at Holly’s ridiculously perfect body Gail decided that she needed to feel that body against her own, one simple movement rid her of her tank top and she smirked at the gasp Holly made when she saw that Gail was now topless. Not one to fall behind Holly undid her own bra and let Gail pull the straps down and off her. There was something so inexplicably perfect about this moment, the two of them sitting there just looking at one another. It wasn’t heated or rushed it was just them being together. 

Holly brought her hand up and rested it over Gail’s pounding heart, “Are you sure?” Gail nodded as her body trembled.  
“I need to hear you say it Gail, I need you to be sure, because I don’t think I could stop if we go any further and…and…I need to…”

Gail placed her own hand over Holly’s and leaned forward to rest her forehead against hers, “Holly, my sweet beautiful sexy ass nerd, I am sure. Now we need to get up and go to your bed because our first time is not going to be on the floor next to my boots.”

Gail got up and extended a hand to Holly and pulled her up flush against her, Holly’s hands finding their place at her waist as she placed open mouth kisses in the junction between Gail’s neck and shoulder. Somehow they managed to find their way to the foot of the bed, never once disconnecting from each other. When Gail’s knees hit the bed Holly pushed her down and stepped away, “This is your last chance to change your mind.” She warned as she unbuttoned her jeans and shimmied them down her hips taking her boy shorts with the jeans, letting them fall to the floor, she stepped out of them and stood in front of Gail completely bare, literally and emotionally. 

Gail tried to form words but she couldn’t take her eyes off Holly, her mouth went dry as every other part of her body got so much warmer. So taking Holly’s cue from earlier she decided to let her actions speak for her, arching her back she looped her thumbs under the waist band of her pants and started to slowly pull them down, her actions were stopped however by Holly. “Let me.” A shiver coursed through Gail’s body as Holly’s delicate fingers traced a path down the sides of her hips slowly dragging her pants down and off her. It was in this moment that Gail felt embarrassed, not for being so exposed but for the fact that she was wearing spiderman underwear. Gail covered her face with her hand as Holly laughed. 

“It’s not funny.” Gail tried to say crossly but since it was kind of funny she laughed too. “I don’t have sexy underwear.”

Holly reached for the hand covering her face, “I love spiderman and if you want we can buy you some sexy underwear later.” She said as she placed a lingering kiss on her lips which Gail immediately deepened. She let Holly dominate the kiss as their tongues danced and hands roamed. Gail let out a low moan as Holly cupped her breasts and her thumb grazed right below her nipples, she could feel Holly smirk against her lips at her reaction. Holly broke the kiss and placed rough kisses down Gail’s jaw and neck, a mix of teeth and soothing tongue as she made her way to where her hands were kneading Gail’s breasts. The first time she felt Holly’s mouth take in her rock hard nipple Gail was sure that Mrs. G heard her down the hall with her outcry. Holly looked up and raised her eyebrows, “You liked that? Good.” And then she attacked her other breast with the same enthusiasm. Gail had lost the ability to speak only moans and mumbles that vaguely sounded like Holly’s name escaped her as she held Holly’s head in place, her fingers tangled in her hair. Time seemed lost on them as Holly continued her assault on her body, her hand slowly teasing there way south. Gail couldn’t help but laugh as Holly brushed a particularly ticklish area under her ribs and that made Holly stop her ministrations and smile as she climbed back up her body to kiss her. It wasn’t heat but instead sweet, “I didn’t know that you were ticklish. I will have to remember that for later.” She teased.

“You wouldn’t dare…” Gail started to threaten but then she felt Holly’s deft fingers lightly scratching the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, “Okay that feels good.”

Holly placed a kiss below her ear, “Good?”

“Uh yeah.” Gail gulped as the fingers in question ghosted over her now ruined superhero underwear. She closed her eyes and felt her pulse pounding in her ears, she felt so close to falling over the edge and Holly hadn’t really touched her yet. “Take them off.” Gail said softly as Holly ran a finger along the waistband of the last barrier between them. Holly nodded and slipped a hand under the small of her back to help ease them down and off, settling herself between Gail’s legs, it felt so good to have her there.  
“Open your eyes Gail.” Holly told her as she ran her hand up the curve of her hip. “I want to see your eyes.” It took some effort but Gail opened them to see Holly with her lopsided smile looking down on her. “God you are so beautiful.” She said making Gail blush and look away. “Don’t do that, don’t look away I mean it Gail. You. Are. So. Beautiful.” She punctuated her words with kisses to Gail’s jaw and cheeks before placing the last one on her lips.

Placing a hand on Holly’s shoulder Gail was able to reverse their positions putting Holly on her back, “No you are beautiful.” she said confidently as she looked down at her.

Holly’s pov

It had to be a dream, that was the only logically explanation for what was happening. There was no way that Gail was straddling her lap naked in real life, it had to be a dream…a wonderful existence changing dream and if it was she never wanted to wake up. “Don’t go to sleep on me nerd.” She heard Gail tease as her hands traced her ribs; Holly hadn’t realized that she had closed her eyes. 

“You mean this isn’t a dream?” and for that remark she felt Gail pinch her butt. “Hey!”

“Just proving to you that this isn’t a dream.” Gail smirked as she leaned down to kiss Holly.

Just before their lips touched Holly murmured, “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

“You and me both, the dreams were driving me crazy.”

Holly pulled back before Gail could kiss her, “You dreamed about me?”

Gail turned redder than Holly thought humanly possible, “All the fucking time.”

Holly rolled them over, “That is incredibly hot.” She kissed Gail hard as she squeezed her hips. Holly moved her leg between Gail’s and applied pressure to her core and loved watching Gail squirm under her. They continued kissing as Holly explored the contour of Gail’s lithe body until Gail grabbed her hand and placed it between their bodies.

“No more teasing, I want you. I am not begging but I am telling you I am ready now so touch me already.”  
Holly didn’t know if she wanted to laugh at Gail’s demand or come over how sexy her assertiveness was so instead she nodded and placed a kiss on her shoulder as her fingers dipped into her wet folds. The look on Gail’s face was going to be burned into her brain for the rest of her life, the way her mouth opened and how her tongue peeked out to moisten her lips, how her eyes squeezed shut for a moment before opening and Holly seeing her striking blue eyes darken. It was almost too much for Holly. 

She had no intention of teasing Gail but Holly felt like she needed to draw the moment out. Her fingers dipped into the wet heat as her thumb grazed Gail’s sensitive clit and savored how Gail’s hips bucked into her. “Fuuuuuuck.” Gail moaned as Holly finally entered her. She started slow, barely moving, letting Gail set the pace as her hips rolled against Holly. Gail bit Holly’s shoulder as she curled her fingers hitting what she was guessing was Gail’s sweet spot. “Faster.” Gail pleaded and Holly obliged there wasn’t anything she was going to deny the beauty beneath her. 

Holly’s fingers pumped in and out in tempo with Gail’s heavy breathing and she knew that the blonde was close as she moved down her body kissing each breast, letting her tongue trace the faint definition of abs on the soon to be cop before blowing a cool breath over the overly stimulated bundle of nerves. Never once taking her eyes off of Gail’s face, Holly took her clit in her teeth and that was all it took for Gail to tumble over the edge crying out Holly’s name on her way down. Holly slowed her fingers, drawing out her orgasm as long as possible, when Gail’s breathing slowed Holly removed her fingers from her and couldn’t help herself, she but she tasted her fingers earning another moan from the blonde. Holly rested her head on Gail’s chest as she listened to her heart beat a steady fast rhythm. 

They lay there, the room silent except for their breathing until Gail shifted so that she and Holly were eye level. “That was…I never…you…” she didn’t complete her thought instead she kissed Holly tenderly. “You are amazing.”

Holly blushed, “You weren’t so bad yourself.”

Gail gave her a wicked smile and moved to hover above her, “Nerd I haven’t even started yet.” Holly shuddered as a her breathing stopped as Gail took her hand, “Now I wasn’t quite ready for this so I didn’t have time to google how to make your girlfriend come like a screaming banshee so I am going to need you to teach me…think you can handle that?” she said very seriously as she moved both of their hands lower to rest just above where Holly wanted to be touched most, she could only nod as Gail kissed her neck. “And to think you wanted to study something other than me tonight.” 

“I may never study anything else ever again.” Holly said through clenched teeth as Gail kissed a trail down the valley of her breasts. Gail looked up and smiled resting her chin on Holly’s flat stomach.

“You might flunk out of school. Are you sure I am worth it?”  
Holly didn’t answer as Gail continued to kiss around her naval but in her head she decided that Gail was most definitely worth it.


	13. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gail gets some surprises in the form of momma Stewart.

Holly’s pov

She should be sleeping, god knows she was tired both mentally and physically but Holly couldn’t sleep. Her reason for not drifting off was currently wrapped around her and was making the cutest sleep noises. Holly smiled as Gail nuzzled her face more into her shoulder, her hand firmly gripping Holly’s hip; it was nice to know that Gail’s subconscious wanted her close. 

Holly sighed happily as she looked from the slumbering girl to the ceiling and recounted the last few hours; three days ago she would have called you crazy if you had told her that this would happen; that any of this was possible. That not only Gail would want to be with her but that she would feel like this; feel so much so soon. Holly thought herself a woman of science, someone that used logic and evidence over emotion but all it took was to feel Gail’s finger unconsciously trace circles on her bare hip to know that when it came to the blonde her heart ruled her. 

Yawning as she settled more into the warm bed and felt an ache that she hadn’t felt in a long while, it was a good ache. Holly was fairly certain that muscles that she had never used before were sore but it was worth it. She had wanted to laugh at Gail’s screaming banshee comment earlier but for a novice the blonde had a natural ability that Holly was eager to encourage. There was something in the way the Gail had kept eye contact with her the entire time that left her feeling something she hadn’t before. Holly had never been with someone that made her feel so wanted and needed. In the moment that Gail had sent her over the edge she had held her in such a tender way that Holly knew that she wanted to stay in those arms…forever if possible. What a concept…forever.

“Nerd you need to sleep. We have classes in the morning.” A soft voice broke her concentration. “I guess I didn’t wear you out enough.” Gail teased as she lightly kissed along Holly’s neck.

“You wore me out plenty, it is just my head is running at high speed.” Holly admitted as she gave Gail more access to her neck and throat.

Gail moved atop her and even in the dark Holly could see the twinkle in the blonde’s bold blue eyes, “Is it my fault your big brain won’t let you sleep?” Holly gave a subtle nod as she lean up to gently kiss her. Gail pulled back after the brief kiss. “Sorry.”

Holly smiled as she pulled Gail down and rubbed her nose against hers, “I’m not, I like thinking about you. In fact you might be my favorite thing to think about.”

“Even more than cellular breakdown in humid environments?” Gail asked as her hand snaked its way up Holly’s side.

“More than reconstituting fingerprints.” Holly said as she sharply inhaled as Gail cupped her breast and ran her thumb over the sensitive peak. It was getting difficult to keep her end of the conversation up when Gail’s ministrations moved to her other breast but she found that she really didn’t need to form words…at least not right then. Holly wasn’t sure when the blonde’s thigh moved between her legs but the sudden pressure against her core was enough to make her choke out Gail’s name along with a few expletives that made Gail smirk.

Holly should have been embarrassed about how quickly she fell apart after a few well timed thrusts by Gail but she didn’t really care, all that mattered in that moment was kissing Gail. Her new lover made it easy on her by shifting up and placing a kiss on the side of Holly’s lop-sided exhausted smile. The med student wove her fingers through the blonde’s hair and pulled her into a deep kiss. She wanted to put every feeling she had into the kiss but knew that they had so many more kisses in their future. Their future…she really liked the sound of that. As the kiss ended she felt sleep over take her and the last thing Holly remember before drifting off was Gail wishing her pleasant dreams.

Gail’s pov

Morning felt like it came way too soon but Gail was surprisingly well rested; for the first time in months she hadn’t been plagued by the confusing dreams. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know where she was, Gail could tell by the warm skin touching her own that last night had really happened. By all rights she should have been panicking or at the very least a little anxious about how fast everything was happening between her and Holly but she wasn’t. Part of her wanted to rationalize that the reason she was calm was because with the exception of the mind blowing and life altering sex not a lot had changed in her and Holly’s relationship and while that was true in a lot of ways Gail knew there was more to it than that. Holly had an effect on her that Gail had yet been able to define, somehow the med student made her better, more confident, more willing to try new things…more everything.

“Are you freaking out?” Gail looked up to see that Holly had woken up and was running a soothing hand over Gail’s shoulder and down her side. “Because I would understand if you were.” She said softly.

“No…not really…just trying to convince myself to get up, I am really comfortable. You are surprisingly soft for someone that has this much muscle tone.” She said as she sat up and rested against the headboard.

Holly sat up as well and took her hand, “Are you sure? I mean last night…”

Gail leaned over and gently kissed the nervous girl, “Last night was amazing. I am fine…I really am. In fact I am better than fine, I am fantastic.”

“Oh…okay. Well good morning then.” Holly said with a lopsided grin as she kissed Gail’s cheek. 

You could see the relief radiating off of Holly that there wasn’t going to be a ‘morning after mental breakdown’. “Good morning nerd. Do you want me to make the coffee while  
you shower? I have class in an hour.” 

Holly smirked, “We could save time and water if we showered at the same time, you know do our bit for the environment.”

Gail was in fact a little shocked at Holly’s boldness but more than a little turned on too. “Nerd I highly doubt it would save time or water but I do like where your mind is at. Now scoot, I need caffeine.”

Holly pouted but got out of the bed and Gail got to see for the first time her girlfriend’s completely naked body in the light. If she had marveled it before when it was clothed or in states of undress she was astonished now; never had she imagined that she would feel so drawn to another person (man or woman) before but here she was drinking in every curve of this beautiful very much naked woman; she was so enthralled that she was rethinking Holly’s shower offer. 

The unabashed leering didn’t go unnoticed by Holly who smirked as she turned on her heel to face Gail as she leaned against her dresser. “Are you sure?” She said in what Gail could only describe as a sultry tone. It took all of Gail’s willpower to shake her head and not jump out of the bed to pounce on the sexy nerd. Holly shrugged as she grabbed some clothes from a drawer and slowly sauntered over to the bathroom, “Maybe next time.” She called out over her shoulder as Gail grabbed a pillow to groan into.  
Gail bit into the pillow as she heard Holly singing in the shower, it was hard to make out the words but Gail was pretty sure she was singing “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” by Rod Stewart. It brought a smile to her face as Gail begrudgingly got out of the warm bed and slipped on her socks before pulling on the hoodie that Holly had given to her the night before; inwardly she had already decided to keep the hoodie as her own. She felt no reason to put on more clothes since she would be hopping in the shower in a few minutes so she wandered into the kitchen to brew the coffee. Gail was so thankful that Holly had a simple coffee maker and not some fancy one that would cause her to throw her hands up in frustration over its complexity. As the coffee percolated it gave Gail a few minutes of quiet introspection. Her thoughts bounced around from what happened the night before to what it meant this morning; there was no question that last night had unequivocally changed something inside of her. It wasn’t just the sex…although the sex had definitely been the best she had ever had and she may never look at Holly’s fingers again without blushing…no it was in the way that Holly looked at her. It was in those vulnerable moments as she was coming down from her high that she had looked into Holly’s eyes and saw something that she had never seen before…she saw devotion, openness and maybe even love…she wanted to make Holly always looked at her like that.

There was a part of her that was terrified by the thought that of wanting that, wanting…needing somebody like that; she had been raised not to need anybody but in the span of one night Holly had erased that notion. Gail was roused from her thoughts with the smell of coffee and carefully poured herself a cup and one for Holly. As she slowly sipped the strong drink she wondered if the night before was affecting Holly the same way. She didn’t have too much time to contemplate this as she felt warm hands embrace her from behind. “Hey, the shower is all yours.” Holly said as she placed a kiss on Gail’s temple. “Is this mine?” she asked nodding towards the second cup of coffee.

“It is.” Gail said as she turned in Holly’s arms to face her causing the hoodie to ride up exposing her bare lower half as she realized that Holly was only wearing a towel. An unmistakable heat shot through her as she inhaled deeply taking in the clean scent of her girlfriend. “I better get going if we are going to leave on time.” Holly nodded as she kissed Gail lightly on the lips and then just under her ear. Gail leaned into the kiss, “Holly you are going to need to let me go.”

“Don’t wanna.” The med student mumbled as she kissed along her jaw her hands dropping down her waist until her fingers teased the curve of Gail’s firm backside. Gail was ready to melt into her when her phone vibrated on the counter snapping the two of them out of their little bubble of bliss. 

Gail gulped as she backed away and grabbed her phone, it was a text from Dov asking if she knew when they were supposed to meet with the police academy recruiter that week. She would talk to him later about it, right now all Gail could think about was the barely covered woman a few feet in front of her stirring some cream into her coffee. “I am going to go get wet…I mean shower…I meant shower…you…you go put on some clothes or…or...” 

Holly laughed as she leaned against the counter giving Gail a perfect view down the front of her towel, “Or what Gail?”

Gail made an effort to put some distance between them, “Or I am dragging back into the bed we both flunk out of uni because you have turned me into some sexaholic. Do you really want that on your conscious nerd?”

Holly rolled her eyes as she stood back upright and took a sip of her drink, “Go take your shower and I will get dressed, I wouldn’t your academic career to suffer because you can’t get enough of me.”

She wanted to say something really snarky but nothing came to her flustered mind so she hustled into the bathroom and took a decidedly cooler shower than she was used to.  
Later in Holly’s car

As was their norm the pair enjoyed a comfortable silence on the ten minute drive to the university but Gail could tell that Holly wanted to say something but hadn’t found the right words yet. She knew better than to rush her, Holly would tell her when she was ready. Holly pulled into an open parking space and they both looked out on to the snow covered courtyard. 

Gail was hesitant to leave the warmth of the car and for that matter she didn’t really want to leave Holly even if she would see her in a few hours in class. “I guess I shou…”

“What are we?” Holly cut her off. “I mean what are we to each other? What do we tell people if they ask? Are we even telling people?” She turned to face Gail and it was evident on her face that she needed an answer and not a witty remark.

Gail cleared her throat and fidgeted in her seat to turn her body towards Holly. “Okay..uh…I think that we…we are together…right? I don’t make it a habit of sleeping with people that I am not serious about. So I would say that we are dating and I would hope that we are exclusive. As far as the rest…I am not really big on sharing my private life with people…you are kinda the exception to that rule but I figure the people that matter in my life already know. Dov and Chris know…”

“Dov and Chris know?” Holly interrupted. “Your friends…your roommates…they know about me…us?”

Gail nodded slowly as Holly smiled her little lop-sided smile. “They asked me the other day, the day I ran away half dressed, what was going on between us; if we were an ‘us’. They told me in their weird roundabout boy way that they wanted me to be happy and if it was you that was responsible for my better mood then they were happy that I was happy…god did I just say happy three times in a single sentence?”

Holly laughed but then she quieted as she grabbed her hand giving it a squeeze, “That’s big telling them.”

Gail shrugged, “Do you want to tell people?”

Holly bobbed her head from side to side, “I…I would like to tell Jade and Allie. I don’t really have many friends here aside from you and Dov and Chris.”

Gail bit her lower lip, “I am not ready to tell my family…my mother…”

There was no further explanation as Holly shut her up with a kiss. “There is plenty of time for that…there is no rush.” She said softly against Gail’s kiss swollen lips.  
After letting those words drift between them for a beat Gail pulled back enough to run her hand down the side of Holly’s face to cup her cheek, “So are we okay?”

“Yes. We are more than okay. Now get out of my car; you have classes to attend.”

Gail sat back and gave Holly a salute as she grabbed her bag and opened the car door. “Yes ma’am.” She gave her a quick kiss before darting off to her first class, a spring evident in her step.

Holly laughed to herself as she watched Gail almost trip when she turned to give her a quick wave goodbye. There was no doubt in her mind that she had fallen for the blonde.

Later that week- early Thursday morning

Holly’s pov

One of Holly’s new favorite pastimes was watching Gail as she slept, okay it might sound a little creepy but she loved being privy to this version of Gail; a Gail that was free of familial responsibilities and pressures, it was a beautiful sight.

The watching was cut short when Holly heard the distinctive chime of someone trying to skype with her. She gently eased out of Gail’s grasp and slipped on the tee shirt that she had initially gone to bed in before Gail had stripped it off her and thrown it on the floor. Holly walked silently into the kitchen and hit the accept button on her laptop and was pleasantly surprised to see Jade smiling at her. “Hey stranger. I thought you were going to call me this week, did you get caught up in school work again?”  
Holly smiled shyly as she thought about what had been taking up all of her free time and shook her head, “Sorry Jade I have been a little distracted.” she said quietly as to not wake the sleeping blonde.

“Okay…why are you whispering? Do you…Holly are you not alone? Do you have a girl sleeping over? Allie get over here! Holly got lucky!”

She didn’t need a mirror to know that her face was burning red and she hissed, “Be quiet! I don’t want to wake her up.” before Holly remembered that she could just turn down the volume on the speakers.

Jade smirked, “Late night? That’s my girl. So who is keeping you distracted? Did little miss junior detective actually find you a girl at the club?”

Holly waited a beat trying to find the right words to answer this. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, “Actually the girl is Gail.” Even though she knew that she was in for a fair amount of teasing from her friends it felt good to share this news with them, it made what she had with Gail feel more real. 

Jade leaned in closer to the screen, “Seriously? You and Gail? It happened? Who made the first move? Is this some drunken straight girl thing or…”

“If you would stop talking I am sure she would answer.” Holly turned to see Gail with her hair all messed up wrapped up in a blanket standing behind her. “To answer your questions, Yes me and Holly, it has happened about…wait let me do the math…uh…about twenty-four times since Sunday; I technically made the first move but Holly was the first one to admit having feelings for me and no this is not a drunken straight girl thing I leave all the experimenting to the nerdy experts.” Gail said as she placed a kiss on her forehead. “Good morning.” She says simply before making her way towards the bathroom dropping the blanket as she goes, giving Jade an eyeful of her glorious ass.

“I like her. Keep her.” Jade declares after a minute and then shakes her head as to clear away the cobwebs. “So this is really real…and you are happy?”

Holly doesn’t hesitate to nod, “I am happy, this feels different than the others. There isn’t any pressure to be any one but me when I am with her.”

“That is great Hols but important question here…how’s she in bed?” her friend smirked and quirked an eyebrow.

Holly should have been mortified by the question but she had expected it from Jade, “Honestly she is the best I have ever had, no one has ever made me feel the way she does.”

The smirk left Jade’s face and softened, “I really am happy for you Holly, you deserve someone that will love you. Gail seems like a good fit for you, she will challenge you and she has a fantastic butt.”

Holly couldn’t help but nod in agreement, “She does challenge me and her butt is amazing, her breasts are really incredible as well.”

Jade laughed, “Two very important qualities to have in a girlfriend.”

She was about to make a very snappy comeback when she heard Gail call from the bathroom, “Hey nerd you want to conserve some water with me?”  
Without a moment’s thought Holly stuttered a quick goodbye and slammed her laptop shut as she hastily stripped off her shirt on her way to the bathroom.

A few weeks later

For the first time that Holly could remember in a long while she felt truly alive and it was amazing. There was nothing better than waking up to Gail kissing her good morning…no scratch that there was nothing better than falling asleep after coming undone by her touch. But it wasn’t just the sex that that Holly was loving, it was Gail…she knew that she was falling in love with the blonde…hopelessly deeply in love with her. She had been sure that she had loved Jessica but it was nothing compared to the feeling she got when she thought about Gail. Nothing had prepared her for Gail, everything felt new with her, every experience shared was heightened and brighter just because it was with her. Jade liked to tease her that she was lovesick and she couldn’t really deny it.

Holly tried to focus on the paper she was writing but in truth she was watching the clock, Gail was attending a police function that night with her family but had promised to come over when it was done. She was startled by a knock at the door; it was still too early for Gail to be here, dinner wouldn’t have been served yet and there was one thing Holly absolutely knew about her girlfriend was that she didn’t pass up free food. Holly walked to the door and cautiously looked through the peephole but her view was obscured by a large bag of groceries. “Who’s there?”

“The woman that spent 37 hours in hard labor giving you life.” She heard from the other side of the door.

Holly threw the door open, “Mom?” 

The woman pushed past her and set the bags down before enveloping her in a tight hug. “Who else?” her mother teased as she stepped back but still held Holly from her shoulders to examine her. “You look great, I was so worried that I would find you all skin and bones that is why I picked up groceries.” She let Holly go and brought the said groceries to the fridge. A moment after opening the door and shutting it she turned to face Holly with her hands firmly on her hips. “Okay who are you and what have you done to my daughter? There is food in this refrigerator.”

Holly rolled her eyes, “Nice to see you too mom and for your information I have gotten better at remembering to grocery shop.” That wasn’t the complete truth, since Gail had been spending more time at her place, even before they started dating, the blonde had taken it upon herself to keep the loft well stocked with provisions.  
One look at her mom and Holly knew that she wasn’t buying it. “Uh ha, Holly I love you dearly but you are a terrible liar, now who is she and when can I meet her?”  
Playing dumb seemed to be her best option at the moment, “Who?”

Momma (Madeline) Stewart’s pov

Madeline Stewart was not born yesterday and was not amused by her youngest child dodging her questions but decided to play along. “Holly you want me to believe that you, who when I last visited only had half a jar of mustard in the fridge went shopping and bought cheese puffs? You might be lousy at remembering to buy food but you never buy junk food when you do. So let me repeat my question, who is buying the cheese puffs?”  
Holly rocked back and forth on the balls of her heels a moment before looking back up to meet her eyes. “Her name is Gail.”

“Okay so she has a name, how do you know her? Is she in school with you?” she prodded, she was an investigative journalist after all. 

Holly walked back to the couch and took a seat and motioned for her to seat as well. “Gail is a criminal justice major, she is almost done with her senior year. I know her because we are lab partners in a crossover class. Before you ask she is 23 same as me and is from the area.”

Madeline nodded, this was all good to know, “Is she good to you?”

Holly smiled, it was a genuine happy Holly smile and it warmed her heart to see it, it had been a while since she had seen one. “She is really good to me, she really is, mom you don’t have to worry.”

Madeline waved her off, “It is a mother’s prerogative to worry but I am very happy for you. I know after last year…”

This time Holly cut her off, “This is nothing like last year…Gail is nothing like Leah.”

Taking the hint that Holly didn’t want to talk about this anymore she nodded, “Good.”

Holly pulled her legs up onto the couch and drew her knees up to her chest. “So mom, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Is dad in town too?”

It was just like her youngest to turn the interrogation around, she would have made an excellent reporter. “Just me this time, there is a conference in town that the paper wants me to cover, it was all very last minute.” She explained. Holly nodded but her attention was diverted to her phone on the coffee table as it pinged, she picked it up and tried to hold back a smile but it was evident on her face. “Gail I presume?”

Holly typed a quick message and set the phone back down, “Yep. She is at a police function with her family and her brother surprised her by showing up…he has been undercover for the last three months.” She explained.

“Is Gail going to become a police officer as well?”

Once again Holly nodded and Madeline caught a subtle look of worry cross her daughter’s face. “Just about every member of her family is a police officer, both parents, her brother, the only exception is a cousin that joined the fire department but they aren’t allowed to talk about him.” Holly tried to joke.

Feeling her mothering instinct surge to the surface she slide closer to her daughter. “Have you talked to Gail about your concerns?”

At first Holly looked confused but then leaned into her, “Sort of…it was before we started dating. I told her that I would worry and she told me that she would be careful.”

It hurt to see her child look so downtrodden, she kissed Holly’s head as she pulled her into a hug. “We will always worry about the ones we love, it wouldn’t matter if she was an ice cream truck driver you would still worry. Your father hates it when I write articles about organized crime because he is certain that mobsters will hunt me down but he also has accepted that it is my job and that my job is a part of me. You just need to find a way of accepting that this is a part of her.”

“I know…and I have but sometimes I forget. Right now she is still in school and I can pretend that things will stay this way forever…but I know that change is coming.” Holly said as she pulled back and rested her head against the back of the couch. “I see a future with her mom and it terrifies me.”

Madeline was used to her youngest child’s almost brutal honesty but she had never heard her speak so candidly about a relationship before. She had known for a long time (perhaps longer than Holly) that her daughter was gay or at least more open to the idea of a same sex relationship; it hadn’t changed how she loved her child one bit but it did make her worry about the challenges that she would face that her other children wouldn’t. She loved and admired her daughter’s strength and how once she had accepted who she was she fully embraced it. And while Holly had had relationships before they seemed fleeting, no one that she had bothered to bring home or really even discuss with her family. This Gail was different, Gail might be a game changer.

“Tell me more about her, you have me intrigued.” She asked and loved how Holly blushed slightly.

“Gail is…she is an acquired taste is how she likes to describe herself. She is sarcastic and witty, she is very straight forward and honest; she doesn’t hold back. She puts on this tough exterior but is really sweet and kind but you need to get past her defenses to see it. She is like this contradiction, she pulls me out of my comfort zone but I have never felt safer with anyone before.” Holly admitted as she picked a piece of imaginary lint off her pants.

“You love her.” Holly looked up and Madeline had never seen her eyes so wide and expressive; it was as if this was the first time that it had occurred to her maybe it was.

“I…I…do. I love her.” 

She squeezed Holly’s knee, “Have you told her?”

No answer was needed by the way Holly sighed but she replied anyway. “It is too soon, we have only really been together for about a month. This is Gail’s first relationship with a woman…I don’t want to scare her off.”

“Oh I see…so is she a lesbian or bi?”

Holly laughed so hard she snorted, “She is just Gail, she doesn’t need a label and I don’t care what she is as long as she wants to be with me.”

Madeline didn’t know quite how to respond to that declaration but didn’t have the chance to as the loft’s front door opened and a young platinum blonde woman came in shrugging off her coat as if she lived there. “Did she live here? It would explain the groceries and the gaming system set up in front of the television.” She pondered as the young woman pulled off her boots. She took this moment to size up the woman that had stolen her baby’s heart, she certainly was a beauty and had an air of confidence around her that was attractive. 

“My god the food took forever to get served…you have company.” Gail stumbled over her words as she finally noticed that Holly was not alone.

Holly stood and walked towards Gail, “Gail this is my mom, Madeline. Mom this is Gail, my girlfriend.” 

If Gail was nervous it only flashed momentarily over her face as she took two steps forward to shake her hand. “It is nice to meet you ma’am, Holly has told me all about you.”

“It is nice to meet you too Gail, Holly has been catching me up on the two of you. I look forward to getting to know you better but I need to be taking off. I have an early morning and I need to get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow night we can all have dinner together?”

Holly and Gail shared a silent conversation that consisted of a shrug and a nod before Holly saying, “We would love to, just let us know where and when.”

Madeline nodded as she strode towards the door, “I will call tomorrow afternoon, the two of you have a good evening. It was nice to meet you Gail.” She pulled Holly into a long hug and whispered into her ear, “She is breathtaking.” Holly nodded into her shoulder.

“Love you mom, see you tomorrow.”

“Love you too hon. Bye Gail, goodnight.” She said as she left the loft. Shutting the door behind her she felt a catch in her breath, after worrying about Holly for the better part of a  
year she finally had the sense that she was going to be okay and she was certain that a blonde girl named Gail was responsible for that. She couldn’t wait to call her husband and tell him the good news.

Gail’s pov

“So that was your mom.” Gail said slowly as she melted into the couch.

Holly looked nervously down at her, “Yep…that was my mom. Hey are you okay? You look pale…paler than usual. She didn’t freak you out did she? I didn’t know that she was coming…I didn’t mean to ambush you…” Gail had to stop the rambling so she utilized her best weapon, kissing Holly quiet was one of her favorite activities. She pulled away from a breathless but smiling Holly, “Have I mentioned how much I like your methods? Most people either tell me to shut up or they start playing games on their phones.” 

Gail leaned in and placed another light kiss on her lips as she shook her head in amusement. “I wouldn’t say that your mom freaked me out per say…more like surprised me. It’s just that I don’t always make the best first impression…and I really want your family to like me.”

She wasn’t being completely honest with Holly, she was freaking out a little, who wouldn’t be? Gail knew she had lucked out with meeting Jade; or whatever you want to call Gail interrupting her and Holly’s skype call; she hadn’t had time to get nervous and trip over her words. Maybe these surprise introductions were the way to go, this way Gail didn’t overthink it.

“I wouldn’t worry about it you did great and as long as I am happy my family will as well.”

“Are you? Happy I mean.” Gail asked as she leaned her head against Holly’s.

Holly pulled back and gave her that lop sided smile that warmed Gail’s insides to the point that she thought she would melt. “I. Am. So. Devastatingly. Happy.” She punctuated each word with a kiss on a different part of Gail’s face.

Gail grabbed Holly by the shoulders and looked her straight in her eyes and she didn’t even attempt to control the smile that forced itself across her face. “Good. I am happy too. 

Now can we please go to bed?”

Holly bopped her nose, “Oh is someone tired? Do you need to sleep?”

Gail grabbed Holly’s finger and sucked on it lightly, “Nope, I had other activities planned.” Holly didn’t say another word but instead gripped Gail’s hand and pulled towards the bed kicking off her slippers along the way. She loved this side of Holly.

The next day

Okay now Gail was a little nervous, she had been thinking about this dinner all day. Both Dov and Chris had tried to calm her down but it hadn’t helped. She had hated meeting Nick’s parents (Mike had never bothered to introduce her, his parents were hardly around). Nick’s dad was a Superintendent like her mother while Nick’s mom was a partner in a top law firm downtown; both had been very intimidating and of course Gail had started the night with an in poor taste joke about how Mr. Collins arrested the crooks and how Mrs. Collins got them off on technicalities; needless to say the night hadn’t gone well. Then again Gail hadn’t really care if Nick’s parents liked her, this was different; she needed to accept that everything was different when it concerned Holly.

She fidgeted in her seat next to Holly and felt a comforting hand squeeze her thigh and Gail relaxed a bit. Holly leaned over to whisper in her ear before kissing a particularly sensitive spot under it, “You aren’t nervous are you Officer Peck?”

Gail pouted and bumped Holly’s shoulder, “Don’t poke the bear nerd.” 

Before any other threats could be volleyed Mrs. Stewart appeared at the hostess station and started walking towards them. Gail had to admit that the elder Stewart was attractive and was pleased that her girlfriend would probably age similarly. That thought triggered the realization that Gail had considered her and Holly’s distant future and surprisingly it didn’t cause her to break out in nervous hives. 

“Sorry to keep you girls waiting I got a bit turned around finding the restaurant.” She apologized as Holly stood to give her mom a kiss and Gail stood out of respect and sat down once Holly and Madeline had.

“It is okay, it can be tricky to get around all of the road detours.” Holly offered as the waiter came by with menus.  
Gail perused her menu as Holly and her mom engaged in some discuss of the differences in Toronto traffic as opposed to Vancouver’s; Gail was happy to see a bacon cheese burger listed. She almost didn’t notice that the conversation around her had stopped and that both Stewart women were looking at her expectedly. Not knowing what to say she  
picked back up her menu and pretended to look back over it before saying, “The cheese burger sounds good.”

Holly laughed, “With bacon of course. Gail, mom was just asking you if you were enjoying your last semester of classes.”

“Oh, sorry I…I am liking my classes, especially the one I have with Holly. This year has more topics that feel like I will actually need when I am a police officer.”

Madeline nodded and took a sip of her water, she looked like she wanted to make a comment but right before she could speak Holly’s phone rang. “So sorry,” Holly apologized as she checked to see who was calling her, “I have to take this, it’s Meghan from my study group.” She got up the walk outside for some privacy.

The nerves that Holly had pretty much eradicated before came back in full force upon her realization that she was alone with her girlfriend’s mother. Her worst fears were brought to fruition when Madeline cleared her throat and examined her closely. “So Gail tell me about yourself.”

“I…I…what would you like to know?” Gail tried to keep her voice even; she was inwardly scolding herself because she couldn’t afford to show weakness, if she couldn’t talk to Mrs. Stewart how could she expect herself to talk to suspects?

Madeline kept her face stoic but her eyes twinkled and it confused the hell out of Gail. Was this an interrogation or a friendly ‘get to know you’ conversation? “I want to know who my daughter is spending her time with. I want to know if you are good for her. I want to know if I can trust you with her heart. Can you tell me these things?”

Gail appreciated that the woman didn’t dance around the topic, that she was direct. She knew that Madeline deserved answers. Gail sat up straighter in her chair, “Okay, I am Gail Peck, I am the youngest child of Bill and Elaine Peck, both are higher ups in the police department. My brother Steve is also an officer, on his way to being a detective. I am in my last year of college, I get excellent grades, not because I am a genius like Holly but because I work hard at it. I work hard at everything I do, I give people the impression that I don’t care because I know people think that I have it easy because of my family but that isn’t the case. I am not saying that I deserve special treatment because of my name, because I don’t; I don’t want people to see me as only my name. Unfortunately my name is a part of me, something that I live with every day along with the expectations that go along with my name. In my family either you are the best or you don’t exist, it has been a long time since I existed…but I exist with Holly.”  
Gail paused as she took a breath, she had never said anything like this before but she had to continue. “You want to know if I am good for her? I want nothing more than to be good for her but I don’t know if I am but I know…I know for a fact that she is good for me and I will do everything I can to be the same for her. I don’t know if I am a lesbian or not but does that really matter? I don’t want other women, I want her. You won’t find anyone else that is willing to work as hard as I will to make her happy. I promise to keep her heart safe because it would kill me to hurt her.” It dawned on Gail as these words left her mouth what it all meant…that everything that tumbled out of her led to the truth… she loved Holly.

She was so caught up with her realization that she hadn’t noticed Madeline studying her. When she looked up she watched Madeline take a sip of her drink and simply said,  
“Okay.”

“Okay?”

Holly’s mother laid both of her hands down on the table and looked Gail square in the eye, “Okay, it is obvious that you care about my daughter and that you are not afraid to stand up for what you have together. I love Holly, she is my baby girl and she is special. Holly is a smart girl, sometimes too smart for her own good but she doesn’t always trust her feelings and I think that for that reason she has missed out on some good things that have come her way.”

Gail wasn’t sure where Madeline was going with this line of thought but she nodded along.

“You make her happy; you are the reason that she is smiling and I want to thank you. As long as you keep that goofy grin on her face I will be happy to have you be a part in our lives.” Madeline finished with a lop-sided smile similar to Holly’s.

It struck Gail as strangely calming to hear the older woman give her…blessing? Before she could question it Holly came back to the table and sat down just as their food was arriving. “So what did I miss?” she asked innocently as she stole one of Gail’s fries.

“Nothing, your mom was just tell me embarrassing stories about you.” Gail deflected as she batted her hand away from her food.

“Oh no! She didn’t tell you about the time that I got my head stuck in my sister’s ez-bake oven? I only put my head in there to see how it worked, not to lick the brownie batter that spilled inside.”

Gail laughed so hard she needed to take a sip of her water, “No she didn’t tell me about that but I think I need to hear more about this.”

The rest of the evening flew by with embarrassing tales of Holly’s youth and a few stories about Gail and her professional sledder status which of course led to Gail telling Madeline about their first official date and Holly blowing all of her money on a rigged game. A good time was had by all and Gail was actually a little sad to see it end, who knew that some people had awesome moms that were fun to be around? It was time to say goodnight and she even got a hug from Madeline and while she typically wasn’t a hugger (Holly being the exception to the rule) it wasn’t bad. Madeline was having to catch an early flight out so it really was goodbye for Holly and her. It tugged at Gail’s heartstrings to see Holly sad to see her mom go. She watched them embrace and Madeline whisper something in Holly’s ear causing her to blush before kissing her cheek and getting in her cab.

As they walked back to Holly’s jeep Gail intertwined their fingers and stopped Holly as she was about to open the passenger side door for her. “I had a really good time tonight, early I had thoughts that I would rather taser myself in the eye than go but your mom is great.”

Holly smiled and brought their still entwined hands up to her lips, where she kissed Gail’s. “She really liked you; she told me that we were lucky to find one another. She also wants us to come visit before you leave for the academy.”

This stunned Gail for a moment, “Really?”

“Yep.” Holly nodded as she motioned for Gail to get in.

There was no more talk as they headed back to Holly’s loft and that was fine with Gail, she needed some time to process the evening. Between the realization of her feelings for her girlfriend and the invite to meet the rest of the family she had a lot to think about.

“You okay in there?” Holly asked as she parked. “I know that tonight was outside your comfort zone and I don’t want you to think that you have to come back to Vancouver with me.” Gail unbuckled herself and leaned over to kiss Holly quiet but instead caught a shoulder to her face as Holly chose that moment to turn to face her.”Ohhh…shit! I am so sorry Gail! I didn’t see you. Are you okay?” Holly immediately cupping her cheek.

Her eye stung and she had a feeling that it was going to bruise. If it had been anyone else Gail would have ripped them to shreds but Holly looked just sick with worry and Gail lost the urge to lash out. “I am okay but if that is how you are going to act whenever I try to kiss you we are going to have problems, I am all for some rough sex but I have to draw the line somewhere.” She teased as her fingers joined Holly’s tracing the tender area under her eye.  
Holly scoffed as she rolled her eyes, “Come on let’s get you upstairs and ice this.”

Once in the loft Gail was given an ice pack and Holly paced nervously, apologizing every twenty seconds. After the seventh heartfelt apology Gail had enough and grabbed Holly and pulled her towards the couch and pushed her into sitting down before straddling her lap, her hands gripping Holly’s shoulders. “You need to stop saying that you are sorry. I know that you didn’t mean to so you need to stop.”

Holly gulped, “Okay.”

With that Gail set the ice pack down and gently kissed her, it was short and sweet but it was what was needed to settle the pair. As Gail pulled back she rested her head against Holly’s, “You know I am beginning to think that our dates are cursed, first I get covered in vomit and now I am going to be sporting a black eye.”

“I am so sor…”

“No more apologies.” Gail interrupted. “Clearly we are meant to stay inside where it is safe and where clothing is optional.”

Holly laughed as she picked the ice pack back up and gently pressed it against Gail’s face. “You are insane but you might be on to something, want to test out your theory this weekend?”

Gail smirked as she nodded, her hands already under Holly’s shirt pulling it up, yes they needed to talk about going to Vancouver but that could wait. Right now they had a theory to prove.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holly crashes a Peck family dinner.

Holly’s pov

Class was taking longer than normal or at least that was how it felt for Holly as she jotted down some notes as she glanced over to her girlfriend who was doing the same. Only a week remained before Gail graduated and while she was excited for her girlfriend Holly was also apprehensive. Life was about to change in a big way for them, Gail would be leaving for the academy soon and they still hadn’t talked about what was going to happen to them when she left. It wasn’t like they were avoiding the conversation…okay maybe they were a little or at least Holly was but they had been really busy with final exams and projects and that was the excuse the med student was going with. 

The truth was Holly was terrified about the “talk”, she wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Gail and while she knew that it wasn’t really the end of them it was going to end the honeymoon phase that they were currently enjoying. Since them becoming a couple they had only spent a grand total of four nights apart and they were only to prove to Dov and Chris that Gail wasn’t whipped and hadn’t gone pudding soft but after that fourth night of both of them tossing and turning Gail had shown up at three in the morning and climbed into Holly’s bed and told her that she didn’t care what the stupid boys thought. Holly had wanted to tell Gail right then that she loved her but before she could she realized that the object of her affections was lightly snoring into her shoulder. She wanted to make the moment special, Holly had never said those three words to anyone before and it was important to her that they be said the right way.

At last the class ended and Holly smiled as she gathered up her books and notes but the smile faltered when she saw the frown on Gail’s face as she read a text. “Hey what’s wrong?”

Gail shoved the phone into her pocket and shook her head, “Nothing.” Holly nodded, she wasn’t certain that she believed the blonde but followed her out the door; she expected Gail to walk with her towards her car but instead she paused by the doorway and was calling out to Dov to wait. 

“Are you not coming with me?” Holly asked as Gail fussed with the straps of her bag.

Not meeting her eyes, Gail shook her head. “I have something I need to do tonight…alone.”

“Oh…okay. Will you be over later? I mean it’s Friday…”

Gail gulped and finally looked up, “I know it is and I will try, it might be late though…”

Holly shook her head, “Doesn’t matter, I will stay up.” She shifted on her feet not wanting to leave, not with Gail acting this way. “Are you sure that I can’t help you? If it is homework or something I am pretty good with that sort of thing.”

Gail shook her head vehemently, “It’s not like that, trust me on this Holly just stay home. I will see you later.” She gave her a quick kiss and ran after the boys. Holly couldn’t make out what Gail was telling them but whatever she said made both of the faces go pale and they rushed off towards Chris’s truck.

Later that night

Holly fidgeted on the couch with her book, it wasn’t the same without Gail leaning into her side or resting her feet on her lap. She closed the book and looked at the clock it was only six and it would be hours until Gail would be there and this frustrated her. Fridays were their “date night” days…sorta…they didn’t go out since Gail was convinced that someone would puke on her or something to that effect but date nights meant that Gail would bring takeout from some place new to them and she would let Holly pick a movie to watch; granted in the history of their date nights they never made it to the end of the movie because invariably one of them would start kissing the other and that would snowball into them forgetting that anything else existed outside them. Holly really loved date nights. She wished she had pushed harder to know what the thing was that her girlfriend needed to do that couldn’t involve her but she hadn’t and now she was scowling at her clock daring its hands to move faster. Finally she had enough, Holly knew it was immature but she hated not knowing and she pulled on a pair of boots that Gail had left there the week before and grabbed her keys; if Gail wasn’t going to share what was going on then maybe the boys would; off to the frat house she went.

The entire drive to the cops-to-be’s apartment Holly argued with herself, on one hand she wanted to respect her girlfriend’s privacy but on the other hand she was worried and she rationalized that Gail might need her and was afraid to ask for help. She parked the jeep and contemplated going back home but she had made it this far, the ride up to Gail’s floor gave her time to change her mind again but she soldiered on and heard noises coming from the apartment. Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door and the apartment fell silent.

It took a few moments for the door to open and she found Dov on the other side of it, wearing a light blue button down shirt and a look of relief on his face. “Oh it’s you! I didn’t know you were going to be here too.” He exclaimed as he pulled her in for a hug that surprised her, Dov wasn’t normally a hugger.

Holly wasn’t sure what to say since clearly something was going on but she hadn’t the foggiest at what it could be. “I uh…”

Dov closed the door and smoothed his shirt, “I wouldn’t have blamed you for trying to duck out on this dinner, Chris and I would have if it had been an option.”

“Dinner?”

Dov nodded as Chris appeared trying to straighten his tie, “Yeah with the Pecks…that is why you are here right?”

A flood of insecurities washed over Holly as she set her bag on the table by the door, she knew that Gail hadn’t been ready to tell her mom and dad about her yet (she had let it slip to Steve a month or so before but Gail had sworn him so secrecy) but to not tell her that she was seeing them left her feeling hurt.

Chris frowned, “You didn’t know? You weren’t invited tonight were you?” he didn’t wait for an answer before he put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a supportive squeeze. 

“She is probably trying to protect you, these dinners are brutal.”

Dov nodded earnestly, “I have known the family for almost eight years, I practically lived with them in high school and Superintendent Peck still can’t remember my name but won’t forget the one time I tracked mud into her kitchen.”

“At least she calls you something close to your name, she seems to think that my name is Stan or Craig.” Chris added as he gave up on his tie. 

“Chris and Craig are similar.” Holly offered as she fixed the tie.

Chris smiled as he ran a hand over the now perfect tie, “Thanks. We weren’t kidding when we said that these dinners are bad. Gail’s dad Bill isn’t so bad but Elaine…well not to be crass but Dov and I wear protective cups whenever we know that she is near.” He must have noticed her look of confusion and shock so he backtracked, “Not that she physically kicks us in the balls it is more metaphorical and the cups are more for our peace of mind…but you don’t have balls so you don’t need to worry.”

Dov shoved a hand over Chris’s mouth, “Please stop saying balls.”

Holly nodded her head at the two of them, “I second that.”

Chris removed Dov’s hand, “Fine but you agree the woman is terrifying?”

“Oh most definitely the scariest person that exists outside of comic book villains for sure.” Dov agreed.

The med student still didn’t know what to make of what was going on, “I thought the Peck dinners were at their house or restaurants, why here?”

Chris ran into the kitchen at the sound of a timer going off and left Dov to explain. “Gail has been really successful in avoiding the last few dinners using schoolwork as an excuse but Elaine the evil genius that she is tricked Gail into a trap. Gail said that she would be home studying all weekend so Superintendent Peck informed her after class that the dinner would be held here so as not to interrupt her studies.”

“She could have told me, I would have…”

Dov shook his head and interrupted, “You would have wanted to be here to help.”

“Well yes.” Holly said unwaveringly. 

Dov gestures towards the couch and Holly follows, “I have known Gail a long time and one thing that I have learned about her and her relationship with her mom is that it doesn’t matter what Gail does she will always fall short. She could get perfect grades and she should have spent more time working on building up her extracurricular activities, places first in the track meet but failed to break any records or it was a subpar event.”

“But…”

Dov held up his hand, “Before she started going out with Mike there was a guy, Noah, he was a nice guy. He wasn’t popular or a jock, his family didn’t have connections; he was just a nice guy that liked Gail. They met over the summer before our last year of school, he was working with a construction crew that Elaine had hired to remodel the kitchen of their house and it was obvious that he had a huge crush on Gail. She was going through some stuff at the time and wasn’t really in a good place emotionally to notice but the rest of us did…Elaine did. Before he could work up the courage to even talk to Gail, Elaine informed him that he was no longer needed on the crew and that if he was seen around the property she would have his uncle’s parole placed under review. I found all this out when I saw Noah a few weeks later at an arcade, I made the mistake of telling Gail and that is why she started going out with Mike.”

Holly was having a difficult time understanding how a parent could treat their child in this manner and rubbed her temples in frustration for a woman she had yet to meet. “So you understand why Gail wants to keep you away? You mean the world to her and she is terrified that her mom will do something that will take you away.” Dov explained quietly as he heard Gail’s door open. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to her.”

“Holly?”

The med student turned to face her confused looking girlfriend, “Hey.”

“Hey what are you doing here? Did one of the idiots call you?” Gail asked glaring at Dov.

Shaking her head Holly got up and walked over to the now nervous looking blonde, “I came on my own, I was worried…I know I should have trusted you but I can go if you want…”  
There was a sharp knock at the door that made everyone jump. Gail went a shade paler than normal, “Too late now, she is here.” She shoved Holly towards her room, “Find something to wear that isn’t…that.”

Holly looked down at her attire and groaned at her choice of clothes, yeah wearing bleach stain cut-off shorts and a tee-shirt that said ‘Scientist do it in a lab’ was not what she wanted to be seen wearing when she met her girlfriend’s parents for the first time and rushed into the room and went straight to the closet to look for something more appropriate. Thankfully they were of similar size, yes the shirt was a little tight in places but not woefully so and while she wasn’t really a skirt wearer it was the better option over wearing too short slacks. A quick look at the mirror on the back of Gail’s door told her that she looked good considering that they weren’t really her style and took a deep breath. Now she understood all of Gail’s nerves when they had met her mom all those weeks before, she felt pinned under the weight of wanting her girlfriend’s parents to like her. A new apprehension presented itself, what was Gail going to introduce her as? Lab partner? Friend? Girlfriend? Holly’s stomach clenched and she wished she had stayed home.  
It was now or escape through the fire escape and while running home sounded extremely tempting she gripped the doorknob and pushed ahead stopping just before the entry way to the living room. If it hadn’t been so inappropriate Holly would have laughed at the sight, both Chris and Dov were standing against the wall with their hands subtly over their crotches and a small redheaded woman was running her hand over the freshly vacuumed couch cushion and cringing. “Where’s dad? I thought he was coming tonight too.” Gail asked as her mother finally sat down. 

“Oh did I not mention that he was out of town at a conference? Must have slipped my mind.” the petite woman said offhandedly before looking in Holly’s direction, “And who is this? I wasn’t aware someone else was joining us tonight.”

Holly could see the visible change in her girlfriend as her entire body stiffened, “Mother this is Holly, Holly this is my mother Elaine.”

“Superintendent Peck.” Her mother corrected.

“I’m sorry my mother the superintendent.” Gail said through gritted teeth.

Elaine nodded, “And who are you to my daughter?”

Before either girl could answer Dov jumped in, “Holly is Gail’s lab partner, they were supposed to study tonight but since this was last minute Holly didn’t know not to come.”

Turning towards him the small woman gave him a cold smile, “Thank you Robin but I was asking Ivy.”

“Holly.” Gail said quietly.

“What? Speak up Gail, you know how much I hate mumbling.”

Gail stood up a little straighter, “I said her name is Holly. Holly not Ivy.”

Waving her hand dismissively, “That is what I said. Now what is this that I am hearing that you RSVP’d that you wouldn’t be attending your godfather’s birthday celebration? Do I need to remind you that this event is essential for your career? Not only will all of the top brass be there but also anyone of importance in city hall. Now I have spoken to Nicholas’s father and we both agree that it is time to stop this foolishness, he will accompany you…”

“I am not going.” Gail blurted out as she walked in the general direction of Holly, causing a warmth to spread through Holly’s body.

Elaine sighed, “Of course you are. Now I have had my secretary procure some appropriate dresses but I can see that I will have to have her select some different sizes…have you not been abiding by the diet that I had Dr. Moore prescribe you? You look like you have put on some weight.”

Gail shook her head, “Mother…I am not going, I declined the invite because I am not going to be here that weekend…I have plans.”

Scoffing her mother stood up and placed her hands on her hips and Holly could see why the boys paled when she was present, the diminutive woman had the presence of an amazon. “I don’t know what you think you are doing but you are not a child anymore. You cannot run off and hide like you did when you were a teenager. Now like I was saying Nicholas will…”

With Gail standing protectively in front of her Holly placed a hand on the small of her back in a show of support and was pleased when Gail reached blindly behind her to grip her hand. “No…no Nick…no birthday party and I am not hiding or running.”

With a huff Elaine rolled her shoulders back, “Then what are you doing? Besides throwing away a promising career and relationship.”

Gail rolled her eyes as she gently pulled Holly to stand closer to her. “I am going to Vancouver with Holly, it is her best friend’s bridal shower and her parent’s anniversary.”

“So you would rather goof off with your friend than advance your career? Gail I swear…”

Holly couldn’t help the glare that she shot towards the woman that was droning on about responsibilities and how the Peck name means something to the people of Toronto and how she wasn’t going to let Gail singlehandedly ruin their immaculate reputation. Gail squeezed Holly’s hand and took a step forward. “Mother just stop, first off my career hasn’t even started yet, second I called Uncle Dave and already wished him a happy birthday and explained that I wasn’t going to be able to attend and third and this is very important mother…I am never getting back together with Nick so please stop pushing.” Holly watched as her girlfriend took a deep breath and saw the both Dov and Chris were nodding in encouragement. 

“And why not? You are very well suited for each other, his ambitions are right in line with…”

“Because I am already involved with someone.” Gail said her voice wavering a little.

“Oh really? Who? Oh please tell me it isn’t Doug or Casper… I tolerate you living with them but beyond that…”

Gail stepped back to stand next to Holly and pulled their joined hands to rest against her stomach. Gail didn’t say anything but by the look on Elaine’s face it was evident that she understood what the action meant. “Gail…are you trying to tell me that you and this Flora woman are…”

Exhaling a long held breath Gail tensely corrects, “Her name is Holly and she is my girlfriend.”

Even though it was emotionally charged moment, Holly couldn’t help but feel a burst of pride and affection for her girlfriend, she knew how difficult it had been for her to say out loud to this woman that was showing no emotion. “So you are gay now? Because Gail this…you can’t…”

Gail’s body went rigid and Holly instinctively stepped behind her to hold her back. “What I can’t I do mother? Go against your plan? Think on my own?” Gail was shaking now as she continued, “Holly is amazing, she is so fucking smart that it scares me sometimes, she is going to be a doctor and she is funny in a nerdy sort of way and beautiful…the kind of beauty that is real…”

Elaine was holding her temples between her thumb and index and rubbed small circles, no but Holly noticed Dov and Chris slink off towards the kitchen. “I understand that now days it is popular to experiment… but Gail think of your future, yours and Marigold’s… you will be going to the academy soon and then what will become of you? You could get assigned to anywhere in the province and what about if Daisy’s residency is elsewhere? I am just thinking of you, I am sure her parents…”

“I have thought about our future…lately that is all I have been thinking about and we will make it work. If I have to spend my probationary year away from her I will and then I will transfer to wherever her residency is.” Gail said in a calm voice that Holly had never heard before.

This was all news to Holly but she didn’t have time to process this as Elaine took a step towards them, “That is simply naïve thinking, you can’t possibly think about altering the course of your career on a whim…on a girl. How do you know that Blossom will still want you?”

“HER NAME IS HOLLY AND I LOVE HER!” Gail bellowed and the room went quiet the only sound was a dish being dropped in the kitchen and Dov cursing Chris’s clumsiness. In the next moment Holly felt herself being pulled towards the door at a breakneck speed, she barely had time to grab her bag that she had dropped by the entry earlier.

“Nice to meet you ma’am.” Holly stuttered realizing they were the only words she had said the entire time. They would be the last words spoken before Gail pulled her out the door. Luck on their side for once the elevator door opened as soon as Gail punched the call button. She was breathing heavy as she stepped inside and bent over, her hands on her knees and Holly was worried that she was going to be sick but all the while she kept hearing Gail’s words echo in her head- ‘I love her’. It was amazing how those three little words altered her world, all of her concerns from earlier have evaporated, yes they would still need to talk but Gail…Gail loves her. 

Once she was sure that Gail wasn’t going to vomit on her, Holly pressed the emergency stop button and pulled the blonde upright. “Are you okay? That was really…”

“Fucked up?”

Holly smiled, “I was going to say intense but fucked up works too.”

“I bet you wished you stayed home now.”

Holly brought a hand to lift Gail’s chin so that their eyes met, “No.”

Gail tried to look away but Holly wouldn’t let her, “No?”

“You love me?”

Gail rolled her eyes and tried to look unimpressed but a smile betrayed her face. “After all of that freak show…that is what you took from it?”

Holly pressed her forehead against the blonde’s, “You love me.” Not a question this time.

Nodding while still pressed together, “I do, I love you.”

Not being able to hold back Holly kissed her, it was a soft kiss, simple but it expressed all that Holly felt in the moment and when she pulled back and brushed a stray strand of hair away from Gail’s face she let the words that had been wanting to escape for weeks flow out. “I love you so damn much Gail.”

Gail smiled and placed her hands on Holly’s shoulders and backed her to the back of the elevator car, “Good.”

Holly tilted her head to the side as she let her hands drift to Gail’s waist and pulled her close. “Good?”

“Yeah good because I would hate to plan my future around someone that only liked me or was only around to have fun.” Gail explained as she placed a kiss on the underside of her jaw.

“You are so much more than fun.” Holly hissed as Gail ran her teeth over a sensitive spot.

Gail leaned back and smirked, “Really now?”

Holly pushed Gail forward until her back was pressed to the elevator doors and released the emergency stop. “We need to get to my place so that I can properly express just how much you mean to me.”

She was pulled into a deep year kiss that left her wanting so much more, the elevator opened and Gail broke the kiss and took her hand, “Come on nerd, it’s date night.”


	15. Chapter 15

Gail’s pov  
Six hours earlier Gail had accepted her diploma and hadn’t been surprised when Steve was the only Peck in attendance at the ceremony. Her father at least had a good excuse since he was out of the province trying to extradite a big time criminal and to be honest she wasn’t sure she wanted to see her mother yet. They still hadn’t talked about what happened at the failed dinner and at the moment Gail was okay with the radio silence. As disastrous as that night was it was still one of the best nights of Gail’s life, turns out I love you sex is pretty awesome. The blonde couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face when she turned to look at her girlfriend next to her, who was completely engrossed in her book. “We should be landing in about an hour right?” Gail asked as she watched the seatbelt sign go on and the plane shake in the mild turbulence.

Holly reached over and gave her hand a squeeze, “Just under an hour. You doing okay?”

Gail absentmindedly played with Holly’s fingers, “Yeah…mostly…I am a little nervous about meeting your family.” She admitted looking down at her lap.

Bringing Gail’s hand up to her lips, Holly brushed a kiss over her knuckles. “You have nothing to be worried about, you have already met my mom and believe me of the two of them she is the tough one. My dad and siblings are going to love you. Jade and Allie can’t wait to actually met you in person…it is all going to be fine. Trust me.” Holly added softly before pressing a kiss to Gail’s temple.

The fact was Gail did trust her and she turned to kiss her properly. “I trust you…I just want this week to go well.”

Holly smiled into the kiss, “It means the world to me that you want to make a good impression. To be honest I’m a little nervous too…not because of you…it is just don’t want them to scare you away. I mean you are the first person that I have brought home and I don’t know…”

A kiss shut her up, “It is going to be fine Hols, I will be my charming self.” Gail smacked Holly’s arm at her girlfriend’s raised eyebrow. “I can be charming! Okay I will be on my best behavior. But seriously anything will be better than your meeting my mother. I’m still sorry about that.”

This time it was Holly’s turn to kiss her quiet. “I told you before, you have nothing to be sorry about. I love you.”

Gail smiled at the words, she was still getting used to hearing them, “Yeah, yeah…you just want to get lucky on the plane before a week of celibacy.” She teased as she ran her hand up Holly’s thigh.

Holly furrowed her brow, “I don’t think you are going to last the week.”

Smirking, Gail shook her head, “I’m pretty sure that it was you that jumped me at the library during my finals week study group and stripped down in the Russian Lit section.”

Holly licked her lip and they both reminisced over the fond and sexy memory of the event. “Well I wasn’t the one that couldn’t wait until we got home after my meeting your mom.” Holly countered.

Gail didn’t offer a retort as she replayed Holly’s words in her head, she had called it home, not her place but home…like their home. They really hadn’t had chance to really talk about Gail’s declaration of having a plan for them with finals, graduation and the trip taking priority, but that hadn’t stopped Gail from thinking about where they were going. She had meant what she told her mother, she wanted to make this work with Holly even if that meant doing the long distance thing. 

“Gail? You in there?”

“Huh? I mean yeah.” 

Holly bumped her shoulder, “Lost in thought?”

Gail found Holly’s hand still resting on her leg and gave it a reassuring squeeze, “Even if I screw this up with your family you will still love me right?”

With a tilt of her head Holly gave her a quiet laugh, “A couple of things, one- you are not going to screw up and two I am fairly certain that I am hopelessly in love with you. So just accept that you are stuck with me.”

About two hours later  
Much to Gail’s disappointment they would not get a chance to join the mile-high club but she was happier being back on solid ground and was enjoying Holly playing tour guide as she navigated through the streets towards the Stewart residence. 

“Oh see that building over there? The brick one with the blue trim? That’s where my sister runs her catering business out of and at the end of the block is my dad’s bakery.”

“Umm bakery.” Gail muttered under her breath, she was looking forward to visiting the bakery.

Twenty minutes later  
Holly pulled up to a comfortable looking craftsman style two story house that was just outside of town. “This is it.”

Gail nodded approvingly, “You grew up here?”

Holly nodded, “Yep broke my arm climbing that tree when I was five, wreaked my bike on the hill over there and got a terrible case of poison oak in the woods behind the house.”  
Gail could imagine a young Holly running around the property getting into trouble, “Aw hon were you one of those kids that was always bruised and scratched up?” she teased as she ran her fingers through Holly’s hair.

“I was. If I wasn’t reading I was outside chasing after my brother and sister I was coming up with experiments to conduct.” She said leaning into Gail’s touch. “Are you ready to go inside?”

Gail shook her head and unbuckled her seat belt and did the same to Holly’s seat belt. She climbed over the center console and placed herself on Holly’s lap. “I need a few minutes.” Gail said softly as she peppered kisses along Holly’s neck. 

“Okay. Take your time.” Holly moaned as Gail ran her hands under Holly’s tee shirt.

Holly’s pov  
Now was probably not the time to get caught up in a romantic moment with Gail, not in a car parked in her parents’ drive way…not with them waiting inside for them…definitely not when they could come out at any moment but fuck it she was really liking the way Gail’s fingers were teasing her and the blonde’s teeth nipping at her exposed collar bone. 

“Gail…”

“Yes my nerd.” Gail answered not removing her mouth from Holly’s neck.

Holly tried to compose herself but that was a difficult task considering where one of Gail’s hands had traveled but she tried. “Gail…I…um…ohhh yeah that feels…Gail we need to…fuucck…I mean we need to go inside.”

Gail looked up and smirked, “I like your first suggestion better but I guess we should probably go in before they catch us out here.” Much to Holly’s relief and disappointment Gail started to get off her lap but didn’t get far as Holly grabbed her shirt and pulled her back down.

“I think they can wait a little longer.” Holly said before capturing Gail’s lips with her own. She loved how Gail smiled into their kiss as her hands slid down the front of her shirt and just under the waist band of her pants. It was easy to get lost in their own little world where only the sounds of soft moans and hums of appreciation could be heard but the real world was not to be ignored especially when the real world literally came knocking on the car window.

“Oi! Do you think that you could get off my sister and come in the house or do I need to set the hose on the two of you?” 

Holly pulled away from an embarrassed looking Gail to see her brother smirking at them, Holly glared at him and he took off running for the house. Gail was quick to get back to her own seat. “So that was Josh my idiot brother.” Holly said and Gail burst out laughing.

“I make a great first impression don’t I?” Gail said between bouts of laughter. Holly shook her head as she joined in on the laughter.

“It could have been worse, it could have been my dad catching us with your hand down my pants.” Holly reasoned as she tried to collect herself.

Gail looked horror stricken and stopped laughing which made Holly start laughing again. She stopped after a moment and leaned over to kiss Gail’s cheek. “It is alright.” She promised before opening her door. “Are you ready?”

Gail took a deep breath and opened the car door, “Okay let’s do this.”


	16. Chapter 16

Gail's Pov

As soon as Holly had opened the door to her family's house they had been separated, Holly being called into the kitchen and Gail being pulled to the living room by Holly's sister, their bags abandoned by the front door. The main thought going through Gail's mind was that she should have stayed in the car but instead of finishing what she had started with Holly she was being held hostage on the Stewart family couch by Holly's siblings wondering how long Holly would be away but she was informed that Holly was helping Maddie make dinner and wouldn't be coming to her rescue anytime soon. She used this time to observe Holly's brother and sister; Josh was lean and tall like his father but had a mop of mostly out of control curls for hair and Charlotte looked almost identical to Holly with the exception of being a little shorter and having much shorter hair.

"So Gail how was the flight?" Charlotte asked as she sat down next to Gail, sandwiching her with Josh on Gail's other side.

"It was fine." Gail replied, she was hoping that if she kept her answers short than she wouldn't have a chance to embarrass herself.

Charlotte smiled, "Good…good…and the drive here from the airport was that good as well?" Not sure where Charlotte was going with this line of questioning Gail simply nodded. "That's great, I already know that you had a fantastic time in our driveway, from how Josh tells it our baby sister was giving you the grand tour of it." Gail's face threatened to burst into flames as both Stewarts broke out into loud laughter.

After several minutes of them laughing Gail rolled her eyes, "Are you done?"

Charlotte wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and nodded, "It's just that it's Holly, our little baby sister, she was always the good girl, up until now I saw her as this sexless little kid that used to wear a toy stethoscope around her neck and diagnose our hamster with lupus. Now she is this horny woman having sex with her hot girlfriend in front of the house. It's a big change."

Josh nodded as he cringed, "I for one would like to go back to thinking of her as a nun, no offence Gail but I could have gone my entire life without seeing my baby sister in that…that position."

Gail remembered that Holly had told her to not take any of her siblings shit so she rolled her eyes, "If you had been three minutes later you would have gotten a much better show." She teased and enjoyed how Charlotte laughed and Josh choked.

"Just don't knock her up before she finishes med school." He joked when he could speak again.

Gail tilted her head to the side and with mock sadness she ribbed him, "Oh Joshua…did you not pay attention in sex ed? Does Holly need to explain how babies are born to you? Because as good as I am…and I'm awesome in that department…"

Josh jumped up and covered his ears, "Enough! Enough! I will never bring it up again." With a smirk Gail relaxed into the couch, she liked Holly's family.

It wasn't long before Holly returned to the living room with her parents in tow. Gail let them dominate the conversation as she enjoyed how the Stewarts differed from her own family. What interested her the most was how Holly's father Nathan kept shooting her reassuring glances as Maddie discussed their anniversary party and who was coming; it felt good to know that she was welcome in their home. After describing the menu for the party Maddie stood up, "I suppose we should let you girls get situated. You had a long flight, I'm sure that a shower and fresh clothes would feel nice." Maddie said and Holly nodded.

"A shower sounds great. " Holly agreed, she stood and offered her hand to Gail to help her up. Gail walked towards the entry way and grabbed her bag, she reached for Holly's when Nathan spoke up.

"We should talk about sleeping arrangements."

"Dad…" Holly started but Gail shook her head. If the Stewarts didn't want them sharing a room then she would be okay with it, it was their house and even though Gail hated the thought of not holding Holly at night she would respect their wishes.

"I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted was that since we no longer have a guest room Gail will have to sleep in your room but if that is a problem I'm sure that we can dig the old army cot out of the attic…"

Holly stopped him, "No! I mean there's no problem. I will show Gail where the extra towels are and we will get cleaned up before dinner."

Gail held back a laugh as Holly rushed her up the stairs as if she were worried that they would change their minds about where Gail would sleep. "Separate showers please!" Nathan shouted after them.

"Damn… and here I was going to suggest we conserve water." Gail said as Holly pushed her into her childhood room.

"Hush you." Holly said as she pressed a kiss onto Gail's pouting lips.

Gail smiled into the kiss before breaking away to check out the room, it was almost exactly as she imagined it, right down to the Star Wars poster on the wall. "I always knew that little Holly was a nerd. Please tell me that you have Star Wars bed sheets."

"Lots of kids had Return of the Jedi sheets…they were really popular." Holly justified as Gail hopped onto the bed.

Gail kicked off her shoes, "Sure and I bet all of them also had the periodic table hand drawn on their ceiling too."

That made Holly blush, "Okay that might have just been me."

"It's a good thing that I love your nerdy side." Gail teased as she reached for Holly and pulled her on top of her. "I bet this is the most action your bed has ever seen."

Holly rolled her eyes but nodded all the same. "Sadly my bed is a virgin." She said in mock despair.

Gail kissed a spot on Holly's collar bone that was a surefire way of getting the med student hot and bothered, "We could fix that you know…"

At the suggestion Holly laughed and pulled back, "I think you need to go and take a long cold shower."

"Party pooper." Gail muttered as Holly threw a towel at her head, she begrudgingly grabbed her bag of toiletries and the towel and walked in the direction that Holly pointed at and took a very chilly shower.

The next morning- before the ass crack of dawn.

Gail's alarm was going off and she immediately regretted agreeing to go with Nathan to work in his bakery for the day, no human should be up this early she thought as she silently slipped out the warm embrace of Holly and found some clothes. She was nervous about spending the entire day with Holly's father but he had seemed so excited to show her how everything was made and she had to admit that she was looking forward to taste testing all of the donuts that the bakery had to offer.

Nathan was waiting in the kitchen for her with a big thermos of hot chocolate and gave her a smile as he held the door for her. "Ready?" Gail nodded as she accepted the drink and gave him a grunt of thanks. "Not a morning person?" he asked as they walked to his car.

"It isn't even morning yet." Gail countered as she got in the old dodge challenger.

Nathan laughed, "I guess I'm so used to it that I don't even notice it any more. Drink up we have a busy day ahead of us."

A few hours later- almost noon

True to his word it had been a busy morning, Gail learned that there was a lot more to running a bakery than glazing donuts, so far she had learned how to make four different kinds of bread and had successfully baked a batch of apple fritters. They were currently kneading dough for a batch of raised donuts when Nathan cleared his throat, "I umm wanted to talk to you about something…"

"Okay here we go the 'dad talk'." Gail thought as she kept on working the dough in her hands. She had been expecting it and nodded for him to continue.

"I know that we have only just met but…"

Gail interrupted, "Sir I love Holly. I really do…and I know that she is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I promise that I will do everything in my power not to hurt her."

Nathan gave her the same lop-sided smile that Gail loved on Holly, "That's wonderful to hear but I already knew that Gail. I knew that the second I saw you with my daughter. The fact that she brought you here means that you are special to her, she has never brought anyone home, let alone introduced us to anyone that she was seeing. What I wanted to talk about was you…well you and your family. Holly told us about your mother and how she reacted…I hope I'm not overstepping but I wanted to ask how you are holding up."

"Oh…"

"See the thing is I can relate a little on what you are going through." Nathan offered.

"You accidently blurted out that you were in love with your lab partner?" Gail joked.

The older man rolled his eyes, "No, no once upon a time I told my parents something that they weren't ready to hear and it caused a rift in my family for a long time."

This got Gail's attention, "What did you say?"

"I told them that I was dropping out of law school, getting married and going to work in my soon to be wife's family's bakery. Needless to say my father was not pleased and threatened to disown me on the spot."

"Wow." Was all that Gail could say as Nathan took a tray of cookies out of the giant oven.

He set the tray on a cooling rack, "You have to understand that in this city the Stewart name is synonymous with power and money, my family runs banks and has the biggest law firm in the city. My uncle was the mayor as was my grandfather. My family had plans for me since before I had been born and I wanted none of it and when I told them that I had different plans they cut me off and didn't look back. It wasn't until Holly was born that my parents started to talk to me again."

It surprised Gail that Holly had never mentioned any of this before, "Do you ever regret your decision?"

"Not once." Nathan said and Gail believed him. "I wanted to tell you this because I understand the pressure to live up to a family ideal…"

"I know that Holly worries about me becoming a cop but I'm not doing it because I'm a Peck and that it's expected of me. I mean at first it was but over the last couple of months I realized that I really do want to put on the uniform." Gail admitted as she pressed the dough into a ball.

Nathan nodded, "As long as it is what you want."

"It is." Gail paused as she thought if she should ask the question that had been on her mind for a while and decided to go for it. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Hopefully I have an answer."

"When Holly came out to you what went through your head?"

"Is this about your mother?" Nathan asked but he didn't wait for a response before answering Gail's question. "You have to understand that even before Holly told us her mother and I had suspected that she was gay since she was a child but hearing the words come out of her mouth…I don't know how to describe it. The thing is as a parent you have this plan in your head for your kid, they are going to be healthy and happy, they are going to be smart and go to good colleges, they are going to find someone that loves them and makes them feel like they can take on the world. You imagine weddings and babies and when your child tells you that they are gay it makes you falter a little, for a moment you forget about the weddings and babies and you worry about how much harder it is going to be for them. You worry about how society will treat them and how you want to protect them but it is out of your hands. I got scared when Holly told us, that's what went through my head. Now I know that she can still get married and have kids, she can still have everything that her mother and I ever wanted for her but in those few seconds after she told us all I could think about was how much harder it was going to be for her than it was for Josh or Charlotte. I don't know your mother Gail, I can't tell you what was going on in her head but think about this, how did you feel when you started to have feelings for Holly? Did they confuse you? Did you try to dismiss them because you were straight? Did it take you a while to accept that what you were feeling was very real? Now imagine how your mother felt when you told her. I'm not condoning her response but she had only a few moments to process what was going on. Before you write her off completely give her a little while to wrap her head around your news." He brushed his hands on his apron when he heard the front door bell ding as it opened. "I will be back soon, don't over knead the dough."

Gail nodded, Nathan had given her a lot to think about. Maybe she did need to give Elaine time, maybe with time she would accept Gail's choice and be supportive. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice a pair of arm embrace her from behind. "Hey hot buns, what's cooking?" Holly teased as she kissed Gail's neck.

"Hot buns? That's the best you've got?" Gail scolded as she turned in Holly's arms and placed a kiss on her lips.

Holly smiled into the kiss, "I missed waking up to you this morning, I can't believe dad got you out of bed that early."

"Well he promised me lots of donuts."

"Of course he did. Are you having fun? Is my dad boring you to death with baker jokes and stories about how he once made the world's second largest cookie?" Holly asked as she let go of Gail and grabbed a scone.

"He made a giant cookie? He didn't tell me that! That is so awesome. Your dad is kind of cool in a dad sort of way."

Nathan chose this moment to come back into the kitchen, "Hear that Hols, Gail thinks I'm cool. I vote that we keep her around, I like her."

Holly laughed, "Good, I plan on her being around for a good long while."

Gail liked the sound of that.

Holly's Pov

It warmed Holly's heart to see Gail getting along so well with her dad, not that she had been worried but she wanted everyone to get along. Holly liked how serious Gail was about helping out in the bakery, she loved how there was flour covering her girlfriend and how she smelled of freshly baked bread. As soon as her dad left to go check on a customer Holly pulled Gail back into a kiss, careful not to pull her flush against her since she didn't want to be wearing flour as well. "I wish you were coming with me now." Holly said as she rested their foreheads together.

"No we decided that this was a day for you and your friends catching up and talking about Jade and Allie's wedding, if I go then it becomes interrogate Holly's new girlfriend day." Gail replied and Holly knew that she was right. "I think you can handle a few hours without me nerd."

Holly pouted, "Maybe I want to show off my hot girlfriend."

Gail kissed Holly's pouting lower lip, "And you will tomorrow when we go to lunch with them, I will dazzle them with my awesomeness but today go and have fun, do nerdy things and tell me about it when you get home." Gail looked up at the clock on the wall, "You are going to be late, now scoot. I have bread to bake and donuts to taste test." Gail said in an oh so serious tone.

"Yes ma'am."

Holly stole one more kiss before passing her dad in the swinging double doors that led out to the front of the bakery.

Many hours later at the Pour House Tavern

Holly really couldn't remember the last time she had been this drunk, it had been a long while and she was unsteady on her feet as she accepted the shot of some liquor that Jade had pressed into her hand. It hadn't been her idea to drink so much but when Jade started making toasts to her soon to be wife it had snowballed into toasts about Holly's return and that turned into shots because Holly was finally getting some action and now they were taking shots because Gail was hot and Holly couldn't agree more.

"Did she really have her hand down your pants when Josh found you?" Allie slurred as she leaned on Jade's shoulder.

"Yep." Holly replied popping the 'p', "Her fingers were just starting to tease under my panties when he interrupted us."

"Stoooopid Josh! Here's to pussyblocking idiot brothers!" Jade yelled as she drank a glowing green shot of something. Jade's eyes were wild as she shook her head as if to clear it from its drunken haze. "You really love her don't you? It's not just unbelievably hot fucking right?"

Holly nodded so vehemently that she almost fell off her stool, "I do. When I'm with her I feel whole…she is like gravity she pulls me in and I just want to stay in her orbit."

Jade laughed, "You are such a science nerd."

"She loves it when I talk nerdy. It turns her on." Holly said as she stuck her tongue out at her friend.

Allie always the peacekeeper jumped in, "Well I can't wait to meet her in person, she almost seems too good to be true."

Jade smirked,"Hols did you cook up a hot blonde in one of your lab classes? Is Gail a sexbot? Leave it to Doctor Nerdbian to build a lover."

Holly grabbed another shot and grimaced at the taste as it went down, "First off I'm not a doctor yet…" She shook her head wildly, "and second she is not a robot and Gail is far from perfect but she is perfect to me." Holly suddenly laughed so hard she snorted, "Gail does this thing with her tongue…gawd I love her." She sat her head down on the bar as she felt the world spin out of control.

"Spoken like a woman in love, let's get you home to your sexbot." Jade declared as she settled up their tab and pulled Holly from her bar stool. She leaned in and whispered in Holly's ear, "I'm happy for you and your blonde sexbot."

The Stewart home

Gail's pov

She heard Holly long before she saw the extremely drunk woman make her way into her bedroom, her nerd wasn't a graceful drunk. Gail smiled as she watched her girlfriend's silhouette kick off her boots and struggle with removing her pants before crawling into bed next to her. "Did you have fun?" Gail asked as Holly snuggled in close.

"I missed you but yeah it was fun. Allie made me try on poofy bridesmaids dresses, I look terrible in pink." She pouted.

"I thought that you were standing up with Jade?"

"Oh I am, they just thought it would be fun to torture me with pink nightmare dresses." Holly clarified as she situated herself over Gail. "But they bought me shots of all kinds of liquor to make up for it." She said with a smile.

"I can tell." Gail smirked at seeing her girlfriend so wasted, she had never seen Holly this inebriated before and then she remembered that a drunk Holly was an extremely horny Holly. She hadn't even completed her thought when Holly started kissing the hollow of Gail's throat. It was only a second later that Gail felt her sleep shirt being bunched up, exposing her breasts. As much as she wanted to continue Gail knew that they needed to stop, one Holly was drunk and Gail wasn't and two drunk Holly was loud…like wake up the entire house and neighborhood loud. "Holly…" Gail started but was muffled quiet by a searing kiss, that she let go on for a few seconds before protesting. "Hols we need to stop."

Holly shook her head and sat up peeling off her shirt in the process. "Nuh uh, I wanna keep going. My bed doesn't want to be a virgin anymore." She leaned down and pressed her bare chest against Gail's barely covered on and kissed her once more. "Com'on my hot sexbot you know you want me, I can feel that you do."

While this was true it didn't change anything and Gail rolled them over so that they were laying side by side. In her 'I mean it' voice Gail said simply, "We aren't doing this tonight and we will talk more about the sexbot comment in the morning. Now go to sleep." Holly opened her mouth to protest but Gail shook her head to cut her off. Holly pouted but reluctantly let herself be wrapped up in Gail's arms and in moments Gail heard her snoring softly. She let herself relax and laughed internally, "Sexbot? Really?

**Author's Note:**

> A/N So what do you think? I hate to say it but I won’t be able to update regularly. At the moment I am on vacation and have a lot more free time than I normally have, my usual work week is at least 60 plus hours. Reviews are like bacon, I love them.


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